Vash the Stampede JR
by Kristin3
Summary: It's just what the title says. Vash's son takes up the legend after Vash dies. ::sniffle:: Vash's hunky son, Wolfwood, Meryl's constant rants, donut eating, bad guys, bounty hunters and show downs! What more could you ask for in a fic?!
1. introduction

This is my second try at a Trigun Fanfiction. The first one is still being written, but people like it! WHOAWHO!   
  
Anyways, now to get to the point. This story came from a freaky dream I had. I was talking to vash ((In my dream)) and all of a sudden he suddenly said,"I'm not Vash. I'm his son."  
  
Well, to make a long story short, that's where I came up with the idea.  
  
No more questions?! GOOD!   
  
I've only seen certain Trigun EP.   
  
Like, I haven't seen ep. 12-13, or 20, or 24-26. ^_^ I cheat and borrow the CDs' from my friends. And download the ep. from the computer, which takes FOREVER!!!!!!  
  
Anyways, now to the story!  
  
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Vash the Stampede JR.  
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Introduction-  
  
((Vash's POV))  
  
The sands whipped around hardeshly that day. The sun was nearly covered over by the sand blowing around. My eyes stung horribly as I trudged through the desert, but I had a place to go. A place that I left in fear of the people there getting hurt.   
  
Jewel....  
  
The name echoed through my mind a million times each day. Each time bringing a stabbing pain in my chest. I thought, once, that we were in love. That I finally found my eden.   
  
She was so.. prefect.. She was beautiful, smart, fun, kind and she loved me back. The days spent with her.. were ... prefect.  
  
Nothing brought me more joy then to see her smile during those days..  
  
'Those days...' I thought deeply. Her and I spilt up. After three years together.. we couldn't stand each other after that. After she had two childern.. my childern... we grew apart. I don't know why. We just.... changed so much..  
  
'That and the fact that she was afraid I was going to live forever and she would die an old woman, while I still stayed young.' I thought bitterly. My life was a curse to myself sometimes, yet I found reasons to go on..   
  
'My childern..." The words echoed through my head like a lost fairytale. My two wonderful childern. My son and daughter...  
  
My son, a strong willed one he was. He always wanted to be the very best. Even from a young age. If I could recall right, he looked exactly like me.  
  
My daughter, a wonderful person she was. Always thinking of someone else. She wanted to help heal the world, no matter what someone told her.   
  
I loved them both dearly and it tore at my heart the day I left. I had to leave. People were looking for me. What if they found me.. and killed them?! I couldn't stand the thought of that happening. I would never allow that to happen. I'd glading die a thousand times before I let either one of those two down.  
  
I looked up, sleiding my eyes from the sand that blew around me. A building.. or a large rock was in front of me. I continued to walk forward dispite the pain it caused. It took all my strength to keep walking forward.  
  
'No use turning back now.' I thought to myself. These were my last moments alive, and I was going to spend them with my childern who I hadn't seen in God knows how long.  
  
I made it to the town as the winds died down enough for me to get my vision back. The city was always hit hard with sand storms around this time of the year. Sand covered up three inches of all the buildings. Three inches wasn't much, but if you take in account that it's sand and it spreads.... it gets really bad.  
  
Try walking through three inches of sand one day and you'll know what I mean. And with me being wounded, it didn't help matters.  
  
'Knives.... I killed you didn't I? I caused you enough damage that you died... right in my arms you died...' I thought.. Knives died two days ago, dispite my effords to help him, I only delayed his death.   
  
But, before he died, he got what he wanted. He grabbed a knife off the desk by the bed. I was using to knife to cut the bandages. He stabbed me in the chest four times before I could stop him. As I lay on the floor, I heard him chuckle before his final breath.  
  
I shook my head of those thoughts. I was going to die. No way around that. I was going to die a lonely and bitter person. I nearly gave an ironic laugh. This was just too much for me to bare. I died, helping out my brother who tried to kill me and killed everyone dear to me. Maybe I was... too sentimental after all. But, there was no time to think about that. My final thoughts, were going to be happy ones, no matter what happened next.  
  
I finally made it inside the saloon. This is where I would find them. My childern. My gifts to the world were in here.  
  
I sat down in a chair and hung onto the dirty cloth covering my whole form. I used this thing many times before, mainly when there were sand storms, but I also used it when I was stuck in that alley way for awhile.  
  
As I scanned the room, i saw him. My son. He was playing for the saloon. His favorite song he came up with. It always made me feel like he was singing about me.  
  
His hands glided up and down the strings in a pro-like manner. His head always pointed a bit down as he thought about every move, though it seemed like he knew every move like the back of his hand. He sung his heart out everytime he got up there. he put feelings into his words.  
  
I smiled, a true smile at him. I finally knew I had done some good on this world. He was the bare proof of that.  
  
Then, he stopped. In the middle of the song, he stopped. He looked up for the first time since I walked in. he looked, straight at me, before continuing.  
  
My heart stopped for a second. He.. could feel my presence, couldn't he? I looked up at his face. He had stopped looking at the floor and was now looking right at me.  
  
'My son...' My thoughts echoed. He looked, exactly like me, but he was only two inches shorter then me and his hair was long. It reached below his shoulders and flooped over to one side of his head. His eyes revealed all his feelings. Confusion and awareness, the two most present in his eyes.  
  
I smiled dispite myself. He was going to leave his own mark on the world that was for sure. Weather it be from singing, or from a gun.. he was going to make me even prouder of him.... if that was possible.  
  
I suddenly felt all the pain I had been hiding away come out. I finally noticed I had lost too much blood. I made a gasping sound before falling out of my chair and hitting the ground.  
  
The last thing I heard was my son's voice singing the last line of the song  
  
'Til death do us part, you're always in my heart.'  
  
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Part 1- Becoming the legend  
  
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((Vash's son POV)) ((AN:The rest of the story will most likly be his POV, unless I'm in a M&M mood. ^_^))  
"Wake up..... wake up.." I said as I helped him to the bed. He was dirty, well, down right filthy! His clothes were tore and soaked with blood. Sand covered almost all of his body.  
  
'This guy made it through the desert in a sand storm! And wounded! Who the hell is this guy?!' I thought to myself. I felt like I had known him forever. Like he was something.. speacail to me.  
  
'Yeah right. He's probably some homeless guy who wondered too far from his town and ended up here.'   
  
Still, the tought remained. He apparently wasn't going to wake up right now. So, I grabbed a wet cloth and started to clean his face a little. I couldn't really see his face. It was covered by sand.  
  
As I cleaned the last bit of sand from his face, he woke up. Then I noticed it.. he looked EXACTLY like me!  
  
"YAHHHH!!!!!" I shouted as I fell backwards. I scrambled away from this guy, who was looking pretty confused himself.  
  
"What.. who.. where am I?" He asked.  
  
"Who am I??!! What the hell are you pal! You look exactly like me! That's not possible." I yelled. What the hell was going on here?!  
  
"Son..." He croaked out.  
  
'Son? IS this my... it couldn't be.. mom said my father was.. Vash the Stampede so how could.. is he.. then why....' GRR! These thoughts were going too fast for me.  
  
"Son... I have a lot to explain to you."   
  
"Damn right you do! If you're my father, then why the hell did you leave us?!" I yelled at him, sitting next to him.  
  
"Son.. I'm dying. I don't have much time left.. but I want to say this that's why I came here."  
  
"Son nothing! You don't have the right to call me that. You left us when I was only one years old! How dare you call me your son!" I yelled angerly at him. A father didn't just up and leave his family like that!  
  
"... please... hear me out.. I have so much to tell you.. but so little time.." He said in a horse voice.  
  
'So, the old man is finally dying?' I thought bitterly. I didn't care abou them. Why should I?  
  
"Why should I listen?" I asked.  
  
"Because.. I want you to know the truth about.. everything."  
  
"Everything huh? That sounds interesting. So spill it. Tell me why you left."  
  
"Because I was so scared that all of you would get killed if I stayed. What if someone found out who I was and up and killed you?! I couldn't live with that. I love you all too much to do that."  
  
"Well, dispite your efforts, it didn't work.. dad." I said, spitting out the word 'dad' like it was toxic. "Kelly, my sister was murdered by bountry hunters looking for you. And mom died last year. She wasn't killed but died of pure sickness."  
  
".... and you?"  
  
"I am fine. And I don't need YOUR help dad." I spit out. I hated being cruel to anyone, but in my mind he deserved it more then anything. "I know what you are, Vash the Stampede. You're a killer. A murder. I'm nothing like you and because of you, my sister is dead! And you want to know what?! I'm glad you're dying! You deserve it after everything you done! How dare you come in my life right when you're dying and expect me to live up to you?! I know you came here to teach me how to be like you! Well, tough! I hope you have a slow death you Bas.." Before I could finished, he punched me.  
  
I fell backwards off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. I grabbed my cheek and stared up at him.  
  
"I don't care what you heard or think of me. I have something to say so listen! Got that?!" he yelled. I could tell he was straining himself to do this. Tears brimmed his eyes. Hurt, pain, love... all mixes of emotions were flowing in his eyes. I could tell me words hurt him more then his wounds right now.  
  
For once, I kept my big mouth shut.  
  
"Now. These are my final moments of life. Let me tell you everything, from the very beginning. Everything about my life."  
  
I nodded at him. I got up and sat down next to him, not daring to say a word until he said I could. Even in a weakened state, I knew her could easily take me down. I sat and listened to everything.  
  
His whole life story wrapped up in only a few hours. He told me everything, just like he said. From the moment he could remember being alive, to this very second. I listened without making a sound, which was hard to do. I wanted to cry during a lot of the story, but I was too proud to do something like that.   
  
I never cried. The only time I remember crying was during my sister's death. After that, nothing was so painful that I had to cry over.  
  
Then he finished. I could tell his throat was dry, so I gave him some water. I sat down in silence, not sure what to do or say.   
  
"So...what do I have to do?" I asked him.  
  
"Are you ready?" He asked me.  
  
I thought about it. If I agreed, I would be running from bounty hunters for the rest of my life. Never be able to settle down, getting shot at and having near death moments, everyday for the rest of my life, which may not last that long if I take this. But, then again. I owe it to him. After what I said, if I didn't take this, I would regret it for the rest of my life.   
  
'Well, it's not like I have a life after both of my family members died. and now.. my father too..' I thought. I looked at him and nodded.  
  
"Then, get ready for the fight of your life. I know you'll do well. After all, you're my son." He said with a wide grin.  
  
I could feel a sweatdrop go down my forehead, but then smiled back. It was hard to imagine him being the way he was. Vash the Stampede, or should I now say, the old Vash the Stampede?  
  
"Dad.. when you die.. will you help me from heaven?" I asked him, looking down at the ground.  
  
"If there is a way, I'll find it. I promise. No matter where I go, I'll find a way to help you. Oh, and will you do me another favor? Well, two favors really."  
  
"Sure. Anything."  
  
"For one, wear this coat." He handed me his bag. I opened it and found a blood red coat in the bag. I pulled it out and looked at it. It was wonderful.   
  
I stood up and put it on. It fit nearly perfect. I was shorter, so the edges would hit the ground and the sleeves were a little too long.  
  
"You look.. great.. You can get it trimmed though." He said with a grin. "And the second one is, please find the two insurence girls for me and take care of them? I think it's still their job to follow me and they would go to the ends of the planet to do it too!"  
  
I laughed with him. He told me about them. When our laughter died down, my mind began to wonder.  
  
'Am I really taking the right road?' I thought. Then I looked at his grinning face. I smiled back at him. 'I may not be taking to the right road, but I'd rather take this one even if it costs me my life.'  
  
Then, his smile started to fade from his face. His breath became rapid and shallow.  
  
"Dad... no.. NOT now! NO! DAD!" I yelled, running to his side and holding him in my arms. I cradled him like a baby as I looked down at his face.  
  
He gave a weak smile up at me. His eyes full of pride. I could tell he was dying now. His body was growing cold to the touch and his eyes were starting to glaze. His breath became more shollow.  
  
I felt for the first time in three years, tears fall down my cheeks. Vash, my father in front of me, dying in my arms, reached up and hand a brushed the tears from my cheeks. He gave another weak smile.  
  
He spoke in a shollow and almost whisper tone of voice. "Son.. I was the most proudest father on the planet when you were born... and if it's even possible, I'm even more proud of you now.. I love you.. good-bye.."  
  
I gripped his shoulder and stared down at him. His final breath came and went. His body grew stiff and cold. His life was gone.  
  
Tears fell from my cheeks faster then they ever had. I clentched my teeth together and stood up. I grabbed his body and put him on my back. This was the least I could do for him. I had to do this, no matter what the cost.  
  
I walked out with him on my back and went down to the streets. I walked through the town, icnoring the stares and pointing. All I cared about was him. I was going to put him in my favorite spot. That's where he should rest. In that peaceful place on the hill where he could look over the city. Finally at peace.  
  
Though, I heard many people tell me not to go out there during the storm, I didn't listen. I walked up the hill, using all my strength. I felt my muscles scream at me and my back almost give out, but I continued anyways. I wasn't going to stop for anything.  
  
I made it to the spot where he could finally rest in peace. I used my bare hands to dig the grave. My finger tips became numb as I dug. I didn't mind. It helped me get over the pain. I had no idea who my father was, or what the sitution was, but yet I judged him by what I heard. I judged him not by what I saw, but by what others saw. I was wrong, so wrong it hurts.  
  
Tears streamed down my face still, soaking my shirt and the ground below me. When I was finally done digging, I looked over at his body. He looked so peaceful. His lips in a small up turned smile and his face completely relaxed. He looked like he was just simply asleep and would wake up at any moment.  
  
God, I wished that to be true. Just to see him wake up as if nothing happened. I want to start over. From the very beginning. I want to get to know him better and to learn everything he has to teach. He was nothing like what the rumors said. He was kind, caring, loving and probably wouldn't hurt a fly if he didn't have too.  
  
I gave an ironic smile. The man I forced myself to hate for so long, just changed my whole life by the mere presences he brought with him when he walked into my life. I easily let him worm his way into my heart through those short hours with him. I loved him more then anyone could imagine. I respected him.. more then I even respect myself. He was brave and probably gave his life for someone.   
  
He was a man, I had wished and hoped to become one day.   
  
I closed my eyes and let the tears dry themselves on my cheeks, refusing to whipe them off. The warm tears fell, for god knows how long.   
  
I didn't even notice the sand storm had stopped. I looked back over at him. Still, the same smile, the same peaceful look. He was going to be like that forever now. He was going to be at peace.  
  
I pulled his body over to the grave. I slowly placed him in it. I covered him with dirt and stones, to make sure animals didn't dig up his grave. I patted the ground down hard, making sure no animal would find him. I found a stone and placed it at the head of his grave.  
  
I pulled out my pocket knife and carved in the stone. I sat there til dust, carving in the stone, making the letters perfect. I sat back and admired my work. Sweat dropped form my face instead of tears now. I re-read what I wrote.  
  
'Here lies Vash the Stampede,  
A great man, father and human being.  
May his soul finally find the peace,  
that he gave his life to find. We will  
love and miss you forever'  
  
I laid down next to his grave. The way the hill was curved, you could see the whole town from right there. I watched the sky grow dark and the town light up. The sounds of this desert planet echoed through the night. I let myself fall asleep right there. My body finally getting the rest it begged me for. My eyelids dropped as I said a light pray.  
  
'Father, I love you. And I will make your legend live on'  
  
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That... was a long chapter... I know. Sad beginning isn't it?! What a way to start out this story! Don't ask me why I am writing this story, because I don't even know! But, I hope you guys like it! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	2. The reuinon sort of

This is my second try at a Trigun Fanfiction. The first one is still being written, but people like it! WHOAWHO!   
  
For those of you who just joined in, lets recap shall we? Vash dies, but before that tells his son everyting about his life. Vash convinces his son to take up the legend, and the legend continues! WHOAWHO!   
  
I know, I didn't put Vash's son's name. I KNOW THAT! But, there is something about his name that's going to be introduced at the end!   
  
Yes! I have suspence! WAHAHA!! ::coughs:: Yeah.. and I have a plot and romance. Oh, just to let you know, Knives is dead for sure, legota, umm not sure right now if I want him in here or not.. and Wolfwood IS alive in here! So all you Wolfwood/Milly fans out there be happy! There will be some of that.   
  
Oh and I am sorry about the stupid names in the first chapter!!! I'M SORRY!!!! I SUCK AT NAMES!!!!!!! OK?   
  
I know Vash doesn't like being the stampede, but.. there is a reason why he wants his son to do this! There really is! I promise there is! You just have to wait and find out though because it is a part of the whole plot thing going on.   
  
Ok, now onto the story! And yes a complete happy, insane person is writing this story. ^_^  
  
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Vash the Stampede JR.  
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Part 2-The reuinon.. sort of..  
  
((Vash's sons POV.))  
  
((AN: HE CALLS HIMSELF VASH THE STAMPEDE! OK? GOT IT? GOOD.))  
  
Five days... five days since my last drawl. I sat down at a bar. I wasn't really a heavy drinker and I didn't like getting drunk. So, I only had a sip of beer here and there. I was too in thought to be bothered.  
  
It had been two years since my father's death. I had traveled from city to city training as hard as humanly possible.  
  
'Human.. that's funny. I'm not full human..' I remembered him saying he was a plant. A PLANT! Yes, it is hard to believe but isn't it hard to believe a sweet guy is Vash the Stampede too?  
  
'Half human, half plant. Neither one nor the other. I have no place in this world.'   
  
That thought had crossed my mind many a times. What if everyone found out? Well, who cares really? Besides, I had a promise to keep to my Father. I had to find those insurance girls and help them in any way possible.   
  
I sipped my beer again. I would have found them and just been traveling with them from the very week I began my traveling, but I had to train first. I had to make sure I was good enough before I even tried to help them. What if I wasn't good enough? What if I failed at what I promised to do?  
  
Then someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up at the manager of the bar.   
  
"It's time for you to perform now." He ordered.   
  
Performing kept food and water on the table sort of speak. So, I went up on stage and sat down on the stool. I didn't have my instrument with me. It got busted about four months ago, so I just sang now.  
  
I began to sing after I gave the guys behind me the sheet music. They started to play as I sung my song.  
  
((Yes, I made this song up myself, so please don't take it without giving me credit atleast and a link to the place it was taken too! ^_^ I love sites that air my work!))  
  
'Down in the dumps, sitting on the cold, cold ground.  
I had finally releized what I found,  
  
It was love, love and I gave it away.  
I was too far gone, to save it anyway,  
  
My cold, cold heart was being warmed up,   
by your sweet tender kiss, I felt the   
pain inside of me melt away, yeah  
  
Now I'm stuck finding only a note,  
Tell me what I did wrong girl!  
I love you..'  
  
As I sung the song I saw three people enter the bar. Two girls and a man. The shorter of the two girls had black hair and beautiful blue eyes. She wore a very offical looking white outfit. The big one next to her was a blond. She was easy as tall as I was, if not taller. She seemed to be full of happy-go-lucky charm.  
  
The man with them was carring a huge cross. He wore a white shirt under a black suit. he was smoking a cig. too.  
  
I continued on with my singing, as I thought of the last two years. It had been rough training. I thought I was going to die a lot of the time. I felt like everything was so horrible, that it couldn't get any worse, until it did!   
  
I got scars to prove it too. One scar was on my face running from just above my right brow down to my cheek bone, passing over my right eye. Thank god I had my eye closed or I would have lost it that day!  
  
I had my father's bright red coat on. I had it trimmed for my size and repaired a number of times. I cut my hair to be just like his. I even had it gelled up like his too. I felt like I really was starting to get the hang of being Vash the Stampede.  
  
I closed my eyes and let the song take over me as I sang it. I always put feeling into everything I sang. It made me feel better when I did. Singing let out my fustration with what I wasn't capable of doing. I opened my eyes and saw the three people who had walked in earlier, staring at me like I was a ghost. I got an odd feeling from that.  
  
That's when I finished my song with the last words I sung to my father,  
  
'Til death do us part, you're always in my heart'.  
  
Everyone clapped and stood up. I felt warmth inside when this happened. It happened often in good towns, but you never do get over the feeling of people becoming happy over something you love to do.   
  
I grinned and gave a bow before I jumped off the stage. I walked over to the bar.  
  
"Hey Miss? May I have my gun back now? I'm leaving." I said to the barmaid.  
  
She smiled and handed me, my gun. I smiled back and said,"Thank you." before leaving.   
  
I walked just outside the bar, that's when I put the bullets back in my gun and put it away in the gun sling on my thigh. I contiued to walk, but stopped when I heard it. Then name I now call myself,  
  
"Mr. VASH! Please wait!" A girl called out to me. Or should I say woman called out to me?  
  
I turned around and the three people I saw walk into the bar walked up to me.  
  
"How.. how did you know my name?" I asked them.  
  
They gave me a confused look.  
  
"Don't you remember us Vash?" She asked, hurt in her eyes.  
  
I said the first name that poped in my head. "Meryl! Is that you?"  
  
She smiled in relief, as far as I could guess. She nodded. "I'm glad you remembered."  
  
"How could I forget you? I after all spent awhile traveling with you. And Milly! How are you?" I asked, grinning. I felt very stupid at the moment, but maybe I could get them to believe I was my father. That would be easier to deal with then telling them the truth.  
  
"Thank you Mr. Vash the Stampede. I'm doing well. I even got a boyfriend, Mr. Priest here." Milly answered, smiling.  
  
I could see a sweatdrop go down Wolfwood's forehead. I smiled. "So, you two finally got together huh? Took you long enough. So, what have you all been up to since we last met?"  
  
"Oh, a lot Mr. Vash! Meryl and I just got an assignment to look for you again, but then there were rumors you had died, so we got taken off from the case, since no more damage has been reported to have come from you. We all thought you were dead." Milly said in a way too cheerful additude.  
  
I felt a huge sweatdrop on my face. "Yeah.. As you can see I'm still alive and kickin! Do you two really still work for the insurance company?!"  
  
"Yes we do. And since you're alive Mr. Vash, we have to follow you again." Meryl said, with a serious tone.  
  
'And dad said her good points were...?' I thought to myself. Dad apparently was head over heals for this girl. I could kinda see why though. She did have nice eyes.. 'HOLD UP! I'm suppose to protect her not marry her! Snap out of it!'  
  
"It'll be nice to catch up with you guys again. It has been a long time." I said.  
  
"Yes, it has. So, what have you been up to? I see you've been in trouble by looking at that scar. It seems to have just finished healing, so you had to have caused trouble somewhere." Wolfwood said.  
  
"Yeah. I guess trouble likes me alot. And it brought friends." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. This was getting ocward. I didn't like them saying my new name on the streets as bluntly as they were. What if a bounty hunter heard?!  
  
"Where did you get the scar Mr. Vash?" Milly asked in her upbeat voice.  
  
"I ran into a gang about 200 iles back from here. They apparently has swords and weren't afriad to use them." I smiled at that. That was true. That damn gang, well,... ganged up on me! I only had one wound from it, so I was getting better at this sort of stuff.  
  
"A normal gang. I don't believe it. Unless there were hundreds of them,.." Wolfwood started.  
  
"They weren't a normal gang." I answered in a serious voice. I don't like to be challendged or called weak either.   
  
They all blinked at me. Confused about my expression. I rememberd my father for those hours. Even though it was serious, he still had a happy-go-lucky tone about him. I guess, my serious tone wasn't expected.  
  
"Sorry. A lot has happened to me since we last met. I've changed a lot too. I'm sorry for snapping at you." I said with a sigh. I still had a lot to learn and this proved it. "Well, do you guys have a place to stay?"  
  
They shook their heads. I gave a wide grin. 'To tease, or not to tease?' That thought pasted by in my head as I looked down at them. 'Awww! I can't do it'  
  
"You guys can stay with me if you like. My hotel room is big enough." I offered to them.  
  
"Thank you Mr. Vash!" Milly said with a cheerful tone. "Mr. Vash, my I get some pudding too?  
  
"Umm.. sure. I only have a couple of double dollars though,.." I pulled out some of my money I had on me. She grabbed it and left to go buy pudding, I guess.  
  
I gave a nervous laugh as I watched her go. This sure was strange.   
  
Well, the hotel is this way." I pointed to it. It was just down the road. "And I'm in room 5. Why don't you go tell Milly that Wolfwood?"  
  
"Sure. I'll be right back and don't you bring out the drinks without me." He commented before going after Milly.  
  
I just smirked and shook my head. What a group! Meryl looked up at me.  
  
"Shall we?" I said with a shrug holding out my arm for her. She gave a slight blush before she grabbed on and we walked down the road.   
  
When we got up to my room, I sat down in a chair next to her. She looked a bit unconfortable.  
  
"Hey.. what's happen since I've been gone?" I asked her, putting my arms on the table and resting my chin in them. I looked up at her from that possition, showing I was listening.  
  
"Well, we found Mr. Wolfwood while you were gone. He had somehow survived the... you know. So, we all livid together for awhile. Everything was so quiet and peaceful though. So, that's when Milly and I got the assignment to go look for you. We traveled for about a month, not finding anything at all. It was like you dissapeared off the face of the planet! So, what were you doing during those two years?" Merly finally asked me.  
  
"Training mostly. After taking some time off. I needed to start over. Try to figure out my life a little better before I made anymore moves. I stayed here and there, getting jobs as I singer in saloons and helping people out when I could. All in all, a boring two years wouldn't you say?" I finished with a grin. I had gotten good at acting like my Father. I tried to be upbeat and goofing. Everything I could think of to become a little copy of him.  
  
I hadn't noticed that I was killing myself tring to be like him.  
  
"For you maybe." Then something seemed to click. "I didn't know you could sing so well either."  
  
That made me blush. "Yeah well. I try to anyways."  
  
"And that song you sang. It was beautiful. But, it was so sad. I cried at then end."  
  
"That's the root of the song I sing. Emotion. I use it in everything I sing. I want the people listening to me to feel what I'm feeling, to know what I know at that moment. Even for a second, their eyes display what I'm singing about... it gives me the greatest joy." I said.  
  
"But you were singing it angerly." Wolfwood said. I looked over. I didn't noticed him walk in!  
  
"Yeah.. you caught me." I said, looking down at the table.   
  
"Why were you singing it angerly Mr. Vash?" Milly asked me.  
  
"It just a groove I'm in right now. I've had so much happen to me so fast, it's confusing. I also have gotten depressed and have been over the last year. That's all." I looked up at them. They seemed a bit shocked and sad for me. "But I'm fine now!"   
  
"That's good Mr. Vash. I don't like it when people are sad." Milly said. She went over and put down her bags and got out some pudding. "Want some Mr. Vash?"  
  
"No thanks. I ate a little while ago." I said with a smile. She nodded and continued to eat.  
  
"I don't mean to pry, but what happened that got you so depressed?" Meryl asked, with true concern on her face.  
  
I could feel everyone watching me intently. Should I tell the truth? Or should I lie? Oh! I hated lying!  
  
"My father died. My mother died a year before he did and my sister was murdered about four years ago." I answered, looking down at a spot on the table again. I gave a deep sigh. I could feel the emotions from that bubble up inside of me again.   
  
"I'm so sorry Mr. Vash! I didn't mean to... I'm just really sorry." Meryl said, giving me a half-hug.  
  
"It's ok. You didn't know. You were just tring to help me. It does feel good to tell someone about it though." I answered giving another smile. Though it was a half empty smile.  
  
"If you ever need anything.. just ask ok?" Meryl said.  
  
"Well,... I could use.. A girlfriend, money, a house, a new life, a bof of doughnuts, a pizza, a glass of water, some new boots.." Then I got hit upside the head.  
  
"I didn't mean that! I meant emotional support!" Meryl yelled at me giving me a frown/scowl combo.  
  
"Maybe next time you could be more 'emotional' instead of physical then!" I said, rubbing my poor beaten skull.  
  
"Just like old times! You two are going to be fighting like cats and dogs again!" Wolfwood laughed as he said that.  
  
"It's not very funny when you're on the recieving end of her fist you know." I said, still rubbing my head.  
  
"I wouldn't hit you if you wouldn't be so stupid!"  
  
"Well, maybe if you lightened up a bit, you wouldn't have to hit me so much!"  
  
"Then Maybe you could grow a brain in that head of yours!"  
  
"You can do that?!"   
  
**BONK!!!!**  
  
"OUCH! WHATCHA DO THAT FOR?!"  
  
"For you being an idiot!"  
  
I rubbed the back of my head again. I decieded it was quiting time for me. I was going to have a concussion if I didn't quit soon. I sighed again. This was going to be one long night!  
  
**********************  
  
So? What did you think?!?! Please say you like it! I'm really tring hard on this story to get it to be perfect, so please tell me if I did something wrong, so I can fix it. Besides spelling mistakes!!!!!!!!!! 


	3. The night on the roof, and the stupid pl...

well, not that many reviews for this story huh?   
  
I guess no one really wants to hear a story about Vash's son. OH WELL! I must continue! For the insane voice in the back of my head tells me to!  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 3-The night on the roof, and the stupid plan  
  
((Vash's sons POV.))  
  
The night was pretty uneventful, if you didn't notice the fact that I was sleeping on the roof of the hotel instead of in the bed. Ok, long story short, Meryl tried to kill me with my pillow.  
  
Ok, just because I peeked in on her BY ACCIDENT when she was changing, doesn't mean I should be kicked out of my own room!  
  
I sighed. It was morning already and I was awake already. I was watching the two suns raise. It was a beautiful sight to see. Too bad I couldn't see it more often. I was usually too bussy to notice such small things like this anymore. Ever since I started my training, it's been hard to keep track of things like this. I guess, people take advantage of the things they think they will have forever. I, on the other hand, try to admire each and everything that passes by.  
  
For I know, what pains it costs to lose something you thought you'd have forever.  
  
'Mother..' I thought to myself. My mother was practically my life for the longest time, Then we began to fight over little things for no apparent reason. We stopped talking to each other... then it happened.. She got sick. I didn't mind it much because now we could talk. I was sure she was going to live. But when I left for a day to help out a friend,... she passed away when I was away.  
  
A single tear slid down my cheek. I wasn't even there for my own Mother's passing. Nor for my sisters. She was shot down nearly four iles away from home. I wasn't even informed of what happened, til a week later. A WEEK!  
  
Nothing had caused me more pain then to know I would never see them ever again.   
  
I quickly got rid of my tear and sat up. There was work to be done here! I had to do what I came to this town to do!  
  
This was going to be my ultimate training test. If I passed, then I would live. If I didn't pass.... well.. I died. Simple as that.  
  
I clentched my fist and unclentched it. This was going to be a task like never before. I had to do this. I HAD TOO! I owed it to the people of this town.   
  
You see, this is the town where my father became the legend. This is the city of July. It's completely rebuilt, brick by brick. The whole town was restored to it's full wonder.   
  
I looked around. This was going to be it. Either the beginning of my gunman life, or the end of my life.   
  
I sighed again. I half-way couldn't believe what I was about to pull off here. That is, IF I could pull it off. I know my Father could... but could I? I had trained for this for the past four months, but was that good enough?  
  
Dout was setting in quickly the more I thought about what I was going to do in just a few minutes. I just hoped the towns people didn't own a lot of guns.  
  
**************  
((Merly's POV))  
  
I sat up and looked around. It was mid-morning. I looked over to my left and saw Milly and Wolfwood sleeping next to each other. Both wrapped up in their own world.  
  
I smiled. I was both happy and jealous at that. I thought, once that I had found the man I've been looking for my whole life! The perfect person for me.   
  
'There is no perfect person for me.' I thought to myself dully. 'Oh Vash. You went away so quickly, I didn't have time to tell you how I really felt. But, why didn't you come back? You seemed to have forgotton me. I wonder, have you found someone else? Did you not love me at all?'  
  
I shook my head. There were more important things to worry about. But, the way he looked at me when we saw each other again.. in his eyes.. I seemed forgein.. like he didn't even know me.  
  
'That couldn't be! This is Vash! He was probably too dence to remember that far back! But, he did remember me... he did.. does that mean.. '  
  
Then there was a huge uproaring crowd heard outside. I ran ot the window. Milly and wolfwood woke up. We all looked out the windows to see what was happening.  
  
'We caught Vash the Stampede!!' One person shouted.  
  
The crowd roared. People clapping and cheering echoed off the whole town.  
  
"They caught him?! What happened?" I asked myself.  
  
"He probably turned himself in, or cause some trouble as usual." Wolfwood answered like it was just the local news.  
  
"Yeah. He probably caused trouble. Time to help him out guys." I said, while putting my hand on my forehead. 'What am I going to do with you Mr. Vash the Stampede?' I thought to myself.  
  
***************  
((Vash's son POV))  
  
"Hey! Come on! I didn't order any vegetables!" I squealed.  
  
People were throwing vegetables, fruits and everything they could find at me right now. I was tied up to a stage like floor, elevated off the ground so the town's people could see me. I was tied tightly to the pole in the center by my waist. I was pinned against it and my hands were tied behind the pole. My feet were also tied to the pole.  
  
"Here you go Vash the Stampede!" Another person said as he threw a tomato at my face.  
  
It hit me dead on. The crowd cheered again. I spit out what got into my mouth. I rubbed my cheek against my coat. This was getting much more rougher then I first thought.  
  
"VASH!!!" A voice cried out. The crowd partly opened up as Meryl stepped forward. And boy did she look mad!  
  
She stalked up to the stage like platform and got up. She stomped up to me and pointed a finger at my face.  
  
"Just what the HELL do you think you're pulling here?!?!" She yelled at me.  
  
"Just hanging out." I said as the man brought over the rope to hang me with. Then set down an axe at my feet. They did this just in case I didn't sufficate from the rope, or escaped I would have my head cut off. "Well, I will be in a little bit."  
  
"Just how the hell did this one happen?" She asked, tapping her foot and putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"I turned myself in." I said with a shrug. "Hey! You think you could wait and tell the world that you caught me first?!" I yelled out to the mayor.  
  
"Slended idea! I'll call everyone I know from other towns to tell them we will soon rid the world of you." The Mayor said in an accent.  
  
"Just what are you pulling here? We both know you could get out in a few seconds if you wanted too, so why are you still here?" She asked me, whispering to me.  
  
"Like I said, I turned myself in. Don't worry Meryl. I got it all under control." I said in a sure fire voice.   
  
Then what looked like bounty hunters walked closer to the stage and pulled out their guns.  
  
"No one move! We are going to capture Vash the Stampede!" The leader said.  
  
"Ok.. maybe I don't.." I said in a nervous voice. I didn't plan on this!   
  
'Damn! My plan is going to be blown up if those jerks don't move it! I'll never get my target if they do this!' I thought to myself.   
  
Then, the man next to me started to get into it. He was the man who brought the rope. He started to grab out his gun, when the gang leader fired at him.  
  
I quickly kicked up the axe that was laying at my feet into the air. The axe took the hit from the bullets and fell down. I looked down and noticed my foot wasn't in the ropes anymore and quickly put it back in. I didn't want them to notice that I could get out. These ropes were tight enough and I didn't need anymore to slow me down.  
  
Everyone made a gasping noise. I nudged Meryl.  
  
"Meryl. Take care of these guys really quick will yeah? I have a plan and these guys are going to ruin it!" I whispered to her.  
  
"Umm.. sure." She said as she quickly brought out her gun. She fired and knocked the leader down. The rest looked at their fallin leader, then ran away.  
  
The leader quickly followed suit.  
  
"Nice work." I comment with a grin.  
  
"Thanks." She said with a smile.  
  
"We are very grateful for your help miss, but could you please move away from him now? We would like the hang him if you don't mind." The mayor said.  
  
"Umm sure." She quickly got off the platform, but not before giving me a deadly look. I gave a nervous smile, afraid she was going to kill me after this was all through, that's if I didn't fail at this.  
  
'Well, there is always the chance Wolfwood would save me if I did fail.' I looked out into the crowd and saw all three of them looking at me. I gulped. Wolfwood didn't even have his cross with him right now! He wouldn't be able to help me in time if something did go wrong!  
  
'Ok.. this is my one chance to fully train myself. If I live that is.' I thought to myself.  
  
The man put the noose ((Spelling please!)) around my neck. The other people by him quickly untied me from the pole, but retied my hands and feet together.  
  
'Wait! They weren't suppose to tie my feet together! That might cost me some time!' I thought nervously. I couldn't back out now. This was it. I had to do this. This was the ultimate escape and save test. I just had to hope that I was skilled enough to pull it off.  
  
I gulped as I took a deep breath. I held my breath without anyone knowing while the man pulled the switch. The floor below me gave way as I fell. The rope tighten around my neck. I was swung back and forth by the rope. My neck nearly snapped from it.   
  
I held my breath and tried to keep a level head. I looked around. The crowd was cheering. They were all happy to see me go, but my new three friends. I could see Milly already cring into Meryl's shoulder. Wolfwood was watching me intensely. I thought his stare would burn me!  
  
'Ok, now it's time... ' I looked up on the city building. There he was. The guy I was after. The guy who killed 30 innocent people back in Saint Grey's city! I thought I saw him come into the city.  
  
I nearly grinned. My plan was finally put into action.   
  
I tightened my neck muscles and pulled myself up a bit to get a better veiw. Then swung up and grabbed the rope with my now loose feet. I had slipped out of my foot ropes almost as soon as I felt the floor below me give way. I quickly pulled myself up and got out of my hand ropes before anyone could react.  
  
I pulled the rope from my neck and swung up onto the platform. I pulled out my gun, which I kept hiden under my sleeve, and fired at him.   
  
I hit him right in the leg. Then I fired again. I hit him in the other leg this time. He fell from the building, which was only one story high, and landed right in the street. The crowd quickly paniked and started to run. I climbed onto on the pole and looked around.   
  
I had lost him in the confusion of people. Once most of the crowd got away, I looked around for him.. nothing.  
  
"DAMMIT!" I shouted. This put me back at square one! I had spent eight months looking for him, and now he was gone. I sighed. Nothing I could do right now. I jumped down and was greeted by a solid hit on the head.  
  
I turned around and saw Meryl.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!?!" She shouted at me.  
  
"I can explain. Follow me." I walked over to the hotel. I quickly got upstairs and started packing my things.  
  
"Now, care to explain why you pulled that little stunt?" Meryl asked.  
  
It was strange. Wolfwood and Milly were so quiet right now. They probably were just letting Meryl blow off some of her steam.  
  
"That guy I shot was a guy I've been chasing for awhile. I saw him come into town. He wouldn't come out in the open no matter what I did. I learned that from past experences with him. The only way I could pull him out into the open and long enough for me to get a good shot, was the fake my capture. I knew that would pull him out." I said as I finished packing. I went over to the mirrior and looked in it. I had a big black and blue bruise starting where the rope was around my neck.  
  
"And you couldn't do that in a safer way because?" Meryl asked, tapping her foot.  
  
".. ummm..." I said... I was in for it now.  
  
"YOU HADN'T EVEN THOUGHT THIS THROUGH HAVE YOU? YOU WERE GOING TO SHOT HIM, SETTLE IT AND THEN WHAT? UMM? NOW YOU CAN'T EVER COME BACK HERE AND FOR WHAT? YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE MAN YOU WERE AFTER?! AND YOU PUT PEOPLE IN DANGER!!" She yelled, then started rubbing her temples.  
  
".. I'm sorry.. I should have thought it through more, but he was going to leave today, so I had to do something. He killed 30 people from Saint Grey city.. and probably was the one who killed my sister.. I felt like I had to do everything to stop him." I said as I started to head out the door. "I really am sorry Meryl. I won't ever do something like that again. I promise."  
  
Then I walked out the door. I walked to the counter and placed the money for the room, then left.  
  
*******************  
  
((Wolfwood's POV))  
  
".. Did I hear him right..? That guy killed his sister?" Meryl slowly asked.  
  
"Yeah you did Meryl. Poor Vash. I bet he feels aweful right now for what happened. He would never put anyone in danger like that unless something was very wrong." Milly said.  
  
"You're right milly. Vash knew what he was doing. He would never get someone else hurt."Meryl said.  
  
I looked out the window at him leaving.  
  
'What are you hiding kid? There is something.. hiden behind everything you do. You seem to be straining yourself from screaming out everything you want us to hear. What is your secert?' I thought to myself. Something wasn't right with this picture. Vash was good at everything he did.. but this.. vash.. was.. Just unblieveable. He showed more emotion and talent for the gun then .... before...   
  
I gasped. Something clicked. I suddenly grabbed my cross and ran out the door leaving a very confused Meryl and Milly.  
  
I ran after him. My thoughts jumbled together. This was the only way. This was the only way! I finally caught up to him on the edge of town.  
  
*******************  
  
OH NO! Does Wolfwood know his secert?!?! FInd out in the next chapter! 


	4. The long story

well, not that many reviews for this story huh?   
  
I guess no one really wants to hear a story about Vash's son. OH WELL! I must continue! For the insane voice in the back of my head tells me to!  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 4- The long story  
  
((Vash's sons POV.))  
"Hey!" A voice called out. I slowly turned around and looked at the owner of the voice.  
  
It was Wolfwood. He was standing there with a scowl on his face and a determained look in his eye. I could only guess what he was thinking behind those eyes.  
  
"Yes?" I asked him.  
  
"What the hell is up with you? And don't give me that crap about changing. You couldn't have changed that much in only two years pal!" He said, gritting his teeth. His cross was in front of him out like a sheild and his finger ready to take off the cover on it.  
  
"Hey! I don't wanna fight you wolfwood! Calm down!"  
  
"I'll calm down once I find out who you are. I know you're not Vash. Vash.. isn't like you are."  
  
I sighed. "So.. you figured it out first.. I figured you would. It's a very long story."  
  
"Well, i got time."  
  
"Ok.. Let's sit down. This is going to take awhile."  
  
Wolfwood gave me a look, but did as I asked. We both sat down in the shade. I turned to him and smiled.   
  
"You ready for the story of your life?"  
  
"I always am." He gave me a warm smile back.   
"Well,... I guess it all started back when I was four. Yes, it did go back that far." I said when Wolfwood gave me a blank look. I continued. "Well, I started to notice other kids had fathers and I didn't..."  
  
*********************  
About two hours later  
*********************  
  
Wolfwood sat in silence. My throat was dry and scratchy. Sweat was paced on both our faces. I leaned back against the rock we were under and waited for him to speak first. I didn't think I could talk even if I tried!  
  
"So,... Vash is dead..."  
  
I nodded. I looked down at the dirt. I was currently shifting the sand with the tip of my boot and making little drawling with my foot. I couldn't really bare to look Wolfwood in the eye right now. I had lied to him.. and he now knew that one of his best friends.... is dead.  
  
"I tired to help him... when I noticed I couldn't... the least I could do was bury him." I said, still not looking at Wolfwood.   
  
"You did your best. I'm sure of it." Wolfwood said, lighting up another cig.  
  
"Did I? I mean.. I could have done something more... there had to be something else I could do! I could have saved him.. and Wolfwood.. The things I said to him.... things I didn't know nothing about.... I said.. I ..I.." I started to brake down at that moment. Everything I had hiden for the last two years came rushing back like a waterfall. I sobbed into my hands. My whole body shook with every sob.   
  
Tears flowed freely down my cheeks, each leaving a path for the next. I closed my eyes tightly and just cried into my hands. I couldn't do much more. I was so broken at that moment. This was the first time in two years I had truely felt pure pain in my heart.   
  
I felt two arms circle around me. I thought it might be wolfwood... but even though he was a guy... I wouldn't mind so much. I stayed still, justing sobbing lightly to myself. I finally took a glance up at who was hugging me so tightly. It wasn't wolfwood... it was Meryl!  
  
"M-Meryl..?" I asked.  
  
She made me stay queit. "It's alright... I heard everything... I'm so sorry!"   
  
She held me tightly. I could tell she was broken too. I wrapped my arms around her and held her to my chest.   
  
"Meryl... I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have found out like this... I could have easied it somehow for you.." I said. I hugged her tightly as I sobbed into her hair. She sobbed into my chest. Both of us felt comfort from each other.  
  
We were strangers, yet felt a bond through having something so dear to us taken away.  
  
I don't know how long we sat there, holding each other in such a comforting way. I finally was able to contain my emotions once again. I gave a long, deep breath. I looked down at Meryl. She was asleep. She apparently cried herself to sleep. I looked around both of us.  
  
Wolfwood and Milly were with each other. Milly had cried. You could easily see the tears still on her cheeks. Wolfwood had shed one tear as far as I could tell. He was probably tring to be strong for Milly. They were both wrapped up in each other and asleep in each other's arms.  
  
I looked back down at Meryl. She was still gripping my upper arms and resting her head against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her again and laid down with her. I held her close to me. It made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore. Like, there was someone out there feeling the same pain I feel everyday like I do.  
  
It felt... good to know that. That someone knew how I felt.   
  
With my new found comfort.. I could finally fall asleep without nightmares of my father's death in my dreams.   
  
************  
  
Morning  
************  
  
I woke up when Meryl stirred in my arms. I opened my eyes and looked down at her. She was looking back up at me. She smiled as she reached up a hand and brushed away a strand of hair from my face.   
  
I smiled down at her.   
  
"You look so much like your father. I couldn't tell you two apart. Though, you did look like you shrank a little if you were Vash." She commented.  
  
I gave a laugh before talking. "Yeah. I'm about two inches shorter then him."  
  
She sat up and looked over at Milly and Wolfwood. Those two were still by each other, but sitting up, apparently talking to one another.  
  
"I was wondering about something. What's your name? Your real name I mean." Meryl asked me.  
  
I sat up and looked at her. "My real name? Well, if you mean my birth name, it's Haruka Kitsune Casamaru."  
  
"Haruka? Doesn't that mean Fire shadow?" Meryl asked me.  
  
"Yes. It also means boyish innocence. Along with a number of things. My middle name, Kitsune means Fox demon, or curious. My last name... well, I don't really know what it means to tell you the truth. But I think 'Maru' means either destruction or something along those lines."  
  
"Why would you be named after all that?"  
  
"Well, if you put it all together my name sorta means The fire shadow, fox demon of Destruction. I don't know if my father named me or my mother named me. But all I know is, it has something to do with my future."  
"Your future?" Meryl asked, but before I could answer, Wolfwood walked over to us.  
  
"So, you two are finally awake. We'd better get going soon. I'm betting some bounty hunters are going to be looking for you." He commented, not quiet looking me in the eye.  
  
I didn't mind though. I couldn't really look him in the eye right now anyway. It was a bit hard to bite down that I had lied to them.  
  
I looked back down at Meryl. She was getting ready to leave with us. I grabbed her wrist, but not in a rough manner. She looked up at me.  
  
"Meryl... I'm sorry I lied to you. When we first met.. I didn't mean too. It kind of just happened.." I said to her.  
  
"Hakura, it's ok."  
  
"If you wouldn't mind, will you please call me Vash in public? I kind of need to be him while I'm there. To keep the legend going." I said, not really sure what she would say.  
  
"Umm.. sure.. I guess." She said. I could see the hurt in her eyes. I knew if she called me Vash it would only make it harder for her to get over his death, but I needed to do this! Everyone but these three needed to think I was Vash the Stampede.  
  
'I will live up to your legend Father, one way or anyone. I will never disappiont you.' I said while looking up at the sky.   
  
"Hey! MOVE IT!" Meryl said.   
  
I looked at them. They were all ready to go, smiling at me. I gave a grin back. I finally had real friends who liked me for who I was not who I was related too.  
  
'Father, I'll keep my promise and protect those two for you. And, I'll figure out why you wanted me to keep up the family name. That I also promise.'  
  
I ran after them.  
  
*********************************  
  
I think this is one of the most revealing chapters in the whole story! Now you know his real name! Hakura Kitsune Casamaru. The whole thing about his name meaning is true. That's not a very good translation of what it means, but that's the basics of what it means. I know Hakura has a lot of meanings to it. One of which is Fire Shadow and innocence or Boy.. something along those lines. Maru, I know means something about death or destruction.   
  
That's why in the anime Inuyasha, Inuyasha's brother's name is Sesshoumaru! Sesshoumaru, I KNOW has to deal with death and destruction.   
  
The first part of his last name... casa trans. in Jap. I know also has something to do with death... I think. I'll have to re-check it, but I think it does.  
  
As I told you before, his name is a big part of the story and plot. I hope you all like it and please review!!! 


	5. A shocking surprise

I see some people really like this story!  
  
::grins::  
  
I'm happy! I love it when people like my stories! I noticed this whole story had been wrapped around a sad towel, so I am going to try to make this chapter a little more light hearted. ^_^  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 5- A shocking surprise  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
We traveled together. All of us. Wolfwood, Milly, Meryl and I. I noticed that all of us were being very queit though. A dead silence was between us. Only our feet sinking into the sand could be heard and the occational gust of wind.  
  
I sighed. This was almost as boring as traveling by myself. Almost.  
  
"Hey.. do any of you know what city we are heading to?" I asked them.  
  
"I think we are heading north, so we must be going to George Town." Meryl answered.  
  
"George? Why do these cities have such weird names?" I wondered outloud.  
  
"They're named after the person who started the town, so I guess-" Meryl started.  
  
"Sorry I asked. Anyway, I think I see the edge of town!" I said with a wide-set grin. I ran up ahead and looked over the small sand hill we were traveling on. Sure enough there was the edge of town. I looked back at them with a wide grin.  
  
They stopped in their tracks, staring up at me. My grin slowly fell as I looked back at them, wondering what could be wrong.   
  
"Why.. are you guys.. looking.. at me like that?" I slowly asked, not sure if I want the answer.  
  
Meryl was the first to speak up. "Oh.. it's just that.. you looked so much like your father just then.. and sounded like him too."  
  
I could see tears form in Meryl's eyes already. I dropped my bag and ran to her side. I was after all causing her this pain. I couldn't very well stand back and let this happen. I hugged her in a comforting way.  
  
"It's ok Meryl." I said.  
  
She sniffled a bit, then looked up at me with a smile. "Call me Insurance girl, please."  
  
I made a shocked face, but then smiled down at her. I nodded. "Sure, Insurance girl."  
  
"Are you two done? I'd like to get to the town before that sand storm gets here." Wolfwood commented through his cig.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." I answered. I grabbed my bag and tossed it over my shoulder.   
  
We all continued into the town.   
  
The town was small and queit. Childern were playing in the street and people were just talking with their friends. Everyone seemed to be happy and the town was peaceful.  
  
'Boring..' I thought. I turned to the group. Milly was dragging Wolfwood off the go buy some pudding and Meryl was taking in the sights. I smiled, then sniffed the air. My mouth started to drool. Meryl gave me a strange look.  
  
"Donuts!" I shouted as I ran to the nearest bakery. I must have looked so stupid, but I didn't care. I have my father's love for donuts and I was dying for one right about now!  
  
"What'll be?" The baker asked me.  
  
"A dozen!" I answered, grinning like a fool.  
  
"Of what kind?"   
  
"Every kind!"  
  
he shrugged, then started to put one of every kind in a box for me. Meryl walked up to me, she had finally caught up ot me. I must have been running faster then I thought.  
  
She shook her head at my antics and ordered herself a bagel while she was there.  
  
I almost snatched the box away from the man and started to chow down on the donuts. I handed him the respected money. I almost inhuald the whole box. I was so hungry!  
  
"Will you slow down? You're going to choke!" Meryl said.  
  
What timing, because at that exact moment, a donut got caught in my throat. I quickly started coughing. I coughed up the donut, which completely grossed Meryl out and some on lookers. Then, I grinned and continued to chow down on the rest of the donuts.   
  
"You're going to-" But before Meryl could say anything, I put my hand over her mouth.  
  
"Don't jinx me!" I complained.  
  
She rolled her eyes at me. I took my hand off her mouth and finished the last donut. Then I threw the box away.  
  
"So, what should we do now?" I asked her.  
  
"Well, what we always do."  
  
"And that's..."  
  
"Wait around until something happens."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
We didn't have to wait that long. Gun shots rang out through the town. Both Meryl and I ran to the scene. Wolfwood and Milly made it there just a few seconds after we did.  
  
I looked around. A man holding a very large gun, had one foot ontop of a tied up victum. A woman, no doubt. The man was about 6'5 and was very well built. He wore a black trench coat that came to his ankles. The color of it was high and circled around his neck. His hair was a shade of grey, like clouds before a thunder storm. His eyes were a mixture of dark greens and dark greys. His under suit was black with leather straps here and there. Black gloves covering his finger up to the first knuckle. His pants were leather, most likely, and were pretty tight fitting. His boots were probably leather too, that came half way to his knees.  
  
The woman he had tied down looked very frightened. I couldn't blame her. This was a very frightening sitution.  
  
The man called out into the large group of people who were hiding behind something, but still watching what was going on.   
  
"Hello citizens of George Town! I'm Ace Giatzsune. I'm a high ranking bounty hunter and also a man who loves a challendge. In case you all haven't heard, there is a rumor around here that Vash the Stampede is around this area. Well, if he is, he'd better show himself or else I'll start killing!" He annouced.  
  
A braver man then the rest of the people around him, walked out of his hiding. "Why would Vash the Stampede want to stop you from killing?"  
  
"Because, you fool. Most people don't even know this, but Vash the Stampede is a protector. He fights to stop people from killing each other. I know because I met him once, when I was a boy. I saw what he truely was. I want to fight him! A fight to the death!" Ace said. A wicked grin spreading across his face.  
  
I narrowed me eyes. I took one step foward, before I was pulled back by Wolfwood.  
  
"You got a plan, or are you just going to wing it when you get out there?" Wolfwood asked me.  
  
"Well, you're ideas might come in handy right about now, but I'm not going to let the innocent suffer." I said. I truely meant this too. I had seen too many people died for causes. I wasn't about to let another person die for something this stupid as a person wanting to fight me.. or rather my father.  
  
I shook Wolfwood's grip from me, then walked foward.  
  
'And here goes another peaceful day out the friggin' window.' I thought to myself.  
  
I didn't make it too far, before bullets landed in front of my feet, stopping me from continuing my walk. The man grinned, that evil grin at me. His eyes flickering with the hope of blood shed. His muscles tighten in antisipation. ((Spelling!))  
  
"Well, well, well. Vash the Stampede! So, what have you been doing all these years?" Ace asked me.  
  
"Nothing much really. Saving people, wondering around. The usual." I answered back.  
  
The crowd seemed a lot more tense knowing that 'Vash the Stampede' was also in the middle of this.  
  
The man's grin spread even wider.  
  
"So, do you agree to a final fight?" Ace asked me.  
  
"Do I have a choice?" I asked back.  
  
"Not really." He answered, pulling his gun away from the woman's head. He walked a few feet from her, but still close enough to where I couldn't get to her in time if something bad happened.   
  
I clentched my teeth together. A quick drawl could put an end to this, but was I trained enough? Was I fast enough to beat this man who obviusly has been training his whole life for this moment?  
  
I took a nervous glance to the woman who was tied up. My eyes narrowed.  
  
'I better be.' Was my thought.  
  
"So, shall we settle this the old fashion way? One quick drawl? Or do you want it dragged out a bit?" Ace asked me.  
  
"Well, I was always fond of being old fashion." I answered. I held my hand by my gun, ready to drawl at any moment.  
  
The man snicked, then aimed his gun at me. "You know.. you're not going to win. There is no way you're faster then my gun here, so why don't you just give up?"  
  
"Well, I prefer not to lose hope so fast. Besides, I'd really like to test out my skill." I answered in a cheerful tone.  
  
Then man's smile faded. I saw his finger go for the trigger. I quickly brought out my Colt. Then it finally accured to me what he meant by me not being able to dodge his gun.  
  
My eyes opened wide in shock. How could I have been so stupid?!If I dodged, people behind me were going to get hit and if I didn't dodge, I would get hit.  
  
'No win..' I thought.   
  
His grin appeared back on his face. He knew he won. His grin widened as he pulled the trigger.   
*********************************  
This is a bit shorter then most of the chapters! I KNOW IT IS! ::sobs:: I couldn't help it! SORRY!!!  
  
But, I have been working hard on drawling though! To prove it, use the link below! It even has a picture of Ace in it!  
  



	6. A Loss in Battle

Sorry about the whole link thing. Just E-mail me at Dbzgirl61@aol.com and ask for the link. Thank you!  
  
And Thank you reviewers!   
  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 6- A Loss in Battle  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
My mind flashed a billion thoughts faster then light through my head. Everything was in slow motion for me. Even my breathing was slow. I could hear my heart beat every beat. Sweat dropped from my face onto the ground. People slowly moving away from the scene, taking forever it seemed to me.  
  
I had to make up my mind. Either the people, or me. That was no choice at all.   
  
Then, an idea popped into my head. I narrowed my eyes at the bullet that was traveling to me at a slow pace. Not even half way to me yet. I pointed my gun straight at the bullet.  
  
This was going to be very tricky, but worth it. I pulled the trigger. The recall of my gun pushed my arm up. My eyes still tracking the bullet.   
  
Both bullets collided together. They stopped one another, and fell to the ground, flatted.  
  
Everything went back into fast motion again. I blinked. The sweatdropped from my chin and hit the ground. My breath was in a panting motion.   
  
Ace's jaw dropped a bit. Then, he gritted his teeth together and held his gun back up at me.   
  
"So. You think you won because you could counter my bullets huh? Well, think again!" He said, pulling a rod out of the back of his gun. The gun popped open, with multiple barrels popping out, all aimed at me.   
  
I clentched my teeth together. This guy really didn't know when to quit did he?  
  
"Let this be a lesson to you Vash the Stampede. Never draw with a Bounty Hunter!" he shouted, the pulled the trigger.  
  
Eight bullets popped out, one from each barrel. I gripped my gun. I only had FIVE bullets left! That meant, three on the loose, then I'd be out!  
  
'What the hell am I suppose to do now?' I thought to myself. This was much more trouble then I first thought. If I failed, a lot of people were going to either get hurt or die! I couldn't let that happen! no matter what happened to me. I couldn't allow someone to die, or even get hurt because I was being stupid as usual.  
  
My eyes widened. Of course I had another ace up my sleeve! I was Vash's son after all right?  
  
I turned around as fast as I could and ran towards the crowd. The bullets were almost half way to me already! They were faster then the other ones. That meant I had less time.  
  
I ran striaght for Woflwood. He had his punisher with him. That huge silver cross covered in a blanket type cloth.   
  
I grabbed it and quickly said,"Can I borrow this? Thanks!"  
  
I turned around and flipped the rope bindings. The cover fell off and several guns popped out of each side. I grabbed a gun with my left hand, and started firing at the bullets.   
  
I hit each one dead on, countering each bullet, but Wolfwood's gun didn't have any bullets! I didn't have time to pull out another gun. So, I did the only thing I could. The bullet was heading straight for a woman's head.   
  
I ran over and took the bullet for her. Everything went back into fast motion again once I was hit. I fell to the ground.  
  
I knew I was bleeding. So, it didn't surprise me when I heard the crowd gasp.   
  
Only one bullet hit me. I was going to be fine... I think. It hit me right in my left arm, about three inches above the elbow. Funny, it didn't really hurt that much and I couldn't feel my fingers either.  
  
The woman I had protected, screamed. "OH MY GOD! HIS ARM!"  
  
'Wow! If this is the reaction from just getting shot has on her, I wonder what would happen if-' But my thoughts were cut off by chuckling from Ace.  
  
I finally looked up. I sat up on the ground, looking a little tried and sweaty, but that's about it. Everyone was gasping at me. I blinked a few times.  
  
"This is priceless! I never thought you would be THIS strong! You're not even cring! I know most men would have fainted by now, but you look like you don't even care! I finally found a real challendge now!" Ace said, smiling, that evil and twisted smile.  
  
"..Fainted? Then what whimps have you been fighting if they couldn't take a little pain?" I asked, confused.  
  
"A little pain?!?!" He asked, shocked to the core.  
  
"Yeah.. that's what I said." Then, I looked over to see what the hell he was talking about. Getting shot was no big deal! Hell, I got shot atleast once a month! This didn't bother me!  
  
But what I saw, nearly made me faint. My arm... was shot off! My eyes opened wide in surprise. Blood was flowing pretty freely through the wound. My jaw opened wide enough to caught flies.   
  
"My- ..My... my a-arm!" I stuttered. I didn't know it was shot off!  
  
'Holy crap!' Was my first thought.   
  
I scratched my cheek with my gun. My right arm was still on. I was only shot in my left arm though.  
  
"Uh... no wonder I couldn't feel my fingers." I said outloud.  
  
I heard about every woman faint at that moment. I stopped myself from giggling. I was what most people call 'In shock' of loosing my arm. The nerves in my left arm shut down, so I couldn't feel it. Might as well, get this over with then before the shock wears off.  
  
I stood up and looked at the man, Ace Giutzsune. He wasn't going to frighten me no matter what limb he blew off my body. Well, ok. He could. He did, he had and he was! I was very scared and wanted to run home, or atleast hide behind a very tall person, but I stood there.  
  
One arm laying four feet from me, the other holding a gun that didn't have any bullets. My legs were almost shaking, not able to really hold me still while I was loosing so much blood. But, I stood there, feeling like I was going to pass out at any moment. Waiting for it to happen and fighting it off at the same time.   
  
'My life really sucks' I thought to myself.  
  
Ace shifted, not really knowing if he wants to go up against a guy who just got his arm shot off and JOKES about it after ward! He lowered his gun as he stared at me.  
  
"Vash the Stampede. You're just as I remembered you. I shall wait til you fully recover before I continue our fight. I want a challendge and killing you now wouldn't ease my thrist." he said, before turning around and walking away.  
  
I blinked in confusion. Hell, I wish all my compeditors would do that once they shot me!  
  
I put my gun away, then ran to the woman who was tied up. Everyone around us seemd to be in their own little world, completely freaked out by what just happened. I didn't blame them one bit.  
  
I untied the woman, as fast as I could with only one arm. She looked at my bleeding wound, then at my face.  
  
I smiled gently. "Are you alright?"  
  
She gave me a look of sadness, shock, happyness and a mix of confusion. Tears whelled up in her eyes.  
  
"How.. how could you ask me that?! Your arm! Y-Your arm!" She said, cring.  
  
"Yeah.. it's kinda gone. So, don't worry about it ok? Why don't you go get yourself something to drink to settle down ok?" I said, still in a gentle and kind voice. I didn't want to startle her anymore then I already had.   
  
She nodded and stood up. I looked up at her. My vision was going. I could make out three blurred versions of her. I was guessing the one in the middle was the correct one.   
  
"By the way. Can you get me a doctor while you're getting your drink? That would really help me out a lot." I said in low, gentle voice, almost like whispering. The whole world was suddenly spinning and fading away to blackness.  
  
"yes! Right away!" She called out. Her voice echoed in my mind, like she was a great distance away from me.  
  
My eye libs grew heavy and begged to be closed. My mouth almost stopped moving at all. I couldn't talk at all right now. My mind spun around and around, before I finally passed out.   
  
***************  
  
I woke up to a world where light ruled. The brightness hurt my eyes for awhile, but I begged to be able to see. I heard voices ringing in an echoed tone. I could catch a few words, here and there from the blurry world. Most were too mushed together for me to hear.  
  
My head was still spinning, like a bad hangover. My head was pounding hard and needle-like pain was courseing through my left arm, well, what was left of it, up to my chest. My head felt heavy as I turned it around, tring to see everything.  
  
I blinked a few times before the once blurry world turned clear. I was in a hospital room. The smell of sickness, medicines and ... flowers reach my nose. I even detected a hint of donuts!  
  
I slowly sat up and looked around. Voices of doctors and nurses could be heard through the door that closed me off from the rest of the world. The curtains in the room were drawn, so only a little light peaked in from the top and bottom of them, letting me know it was day time.  
  
I looked over to a table that was by the bed. There were gifts and flowers and DONUTS!  
  
I quickly grabbed the donuts and ate them like I hadn't eaten anything in years! Once I finshed savoring the taste of each donut, glaze, cream filled and powered donut, I looked over to the rest of the stuff.   
  
I licked my fingers clean of the glaze, before wondering over to the gifts and cards on the table. I picked up the first card. It was very cute. A white coloring with a picture of a cat on the front.   
  
I opened it and read out loud   
  
"Dear Vash,  
I hope you're feeling better. I feel so horrible that your arm was.. well, you know. I only wish I could have done something to prevent that damage. Milly says that you were very brave in taking the bullet for the woman and both of us are very proud of you. But don't you EVER pull another stunt like that again you hear?!?!  
-Meryl & Milly"  
  
I grinned as I re-read the last part. That sure was Meryl alright! She hated to have damage accure when she's around. Good thing a building didn't blow up or something or else she would have whacked me over the head with my own arm!  
  
I laughed at that. That was true! I put her card down and picked up a package. It was from Wolfwood!  
  
I inspected it for traps of some sort. Knowing him, he's probably going to be-little me for being so stupid out there. I looked at the wrapping. Plain wrapping. probably to cheapest you could get while still paying.  
  
I tore open the wrapping and pulled out the gift. It was a box of bullets. There was a small note inside of the package too. I pulled it out and read it outloud.   
  
"This is so you don't ever go into a fight without some good ammo again, You dumbass! -Woflwood"  
  
I smiled. He sure knew how to put words didn't he? I shook my head and put down he package. There were numberous of gifts and flowers and cards from the people of the town.  
  
I guess they were thankful that I stopped that man. They probably only felt sorry that I lost my arm in the process or else they would have kicked me out, or turned me in for the reward. Maybe they would have shot me?  
  
I shrugged my shoulders. You never know. I put the rest of the packages down and looked at my left shoulder. My arm was no longer attached to it. It was a strange feelings not seeing it there. Like a best friend had just up and died or something along those lines.   
  
I reached out and pulled the hospital shirt over to look at it. It was bandaged up. Blood stains were where the end of the wound was. I grabbed the end of the Bandage, then started unwrapping it. I quickly upwrapped it as soon as I could. I wanted to see what happened to it. Once the Bandaged fell, an ugly wound appeared. I winced at it. Just the sight of it gave my goosebumbs!  
  
It was no long bleeding, so that was a good thing. It was also a clean, cut wound. So, I could live with that. Maybe I would get a machanical arm like my dad?  
  
'Oh and I'm so orginal for that idea too.' I thought, rolling my eyes.   
  
I grabbed the bandages and re-wrapped the wound in it. I sighed as I pulled the shirt back over it. Just then the door opened. I looked up and saw Meryl walk in.  
  
I grinned at her. I must have looked like a mess too! My hair was flopped over and I could almost feel the saging in my skin from the lose of blood. My skin was paler then usual too, I noted as I glanced down at my hand. I looked up into her eyes.  
  
She was just standing there. I bet she just didn't know what to say to a man who just lost his arm.  
  
I titled my head to the side. "Hey Insurance girl! Where you the one who bought me the donuts?!"   
  
She smiled, a gentle light smile. I felt my heart almost flutter with excitment. I hated seeing her destressed! But when she was happy, it made me happy!  
  
"Yes. I was hoping you liked them." She said. She walked over and sat down in a chair next to my bed. I looked at her.   
  
"I liked them a lot. They were good. So, how are Wolfwood and Milly doing?" I asked, tring to break the ice, sort to speak.  
  
"They're doing fine. they have been visiting you a lot too. They should be coming pretty soon." She said, also glad I started a conversation. I could see she was tring to stop herself from glancing over at my arm.  
  
I smiled and looked at my left arm. "It's fine you know. It doesn't hurt at all. It's just going to be awhile before I get used to it that's all."  
  
"It's.. It's not that. It just feels like.. history is repeating itself." She said in a soft tone.  
  
"I know what you mean. With everything that has happened, I wouldn't be surprised if it did happen." I said in a honest voice. I looked up at her. She was sad. My face fell back into a frown.   
  
"What.. what if.. it does? Will you leave me too?" She asked, tears ready to brake from her eyes.  
  
I blinked in shock. "Insurance girl... I couldn't leave you if I tried!"  
  
She smiled at that. She got up from the chair and wrapped her arms around me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her.  
  
'.. I could get used to this whole hugging thing.' I thought to myself as a content smile came to my face.  
  
*********************************  
  
Whew! That chapter took awhile. Sorry for the whole stupid 'History repeating itself' thinging going on. But it really does tie in with the whole plot thing I'm going for. I hope you like my story and please review! 


	7. Recovery

Sorry about the whole link thing. Just E-mail me at Dbzgirl61@aol.com and ask for the link. Thank you!  
  
And Thank you reviewers!   
  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 7- Recovery  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
The next few days passed by very slow. The doctors wouldn't let me out of the hospital until I was 'fully' recovered.   
  
"But doctor! I'm Vash the Stampede! This is nothing to me." I complained to him one day. I knew, he knew I was Vash, sorta speak.  
  
"Even so, Mr. Stampede. I'm not letting you out of this hospital until you are fully recovered! Is that clear?!" He said to me, glaring down at me.  
  
"Y-yes, sir." I stuttered. There was no way I was getting out any time soon! I sighed.  
  
'This is just lovely. Stuck in a bed for God knows how long, while bad guys are still runnin' the streets. Well, atleast with people knowing I'm here, no bad guys should come for awhile.' I thought to myself.   
  
Only bountry hunters were stupid enough to come after me right now. And speak of the devil, two came bursting into the room at that very second!  
  
"Where is Vash the Stampede?!" The taller one exclaimed. They were both muscular guys with machine guns in hand.   
  
"What do you two want with my patient?" The doctor asked them.  
  
"We just want to turn him in for the $$60 billion reward." The man said with a cruel smile.  
  
"Well, you two are just going to have to wait for that." I said with a smile. "I'm still in recovery!"  
  
The two guys too a double take at me, before walking over and sticking their guns in my face. Really, they did. They pushed the barrel right up against my cheek.  
  
"Now, why don't you come along Vash the Stampede?" The man sneered.  
  
The other man finally spoke up. "Just out of couristy... why are you in here?"  
  
"Oh. I got my arm shot off." I said like I saying the everyday thing.   
  
They both looked at my arm.   
  
"Who was fast enough and strong enough to shot off YOUR arm?" The taller one exclaimed.  
  
"Ace Giatzsune. You know him?" I asked, just as courious as the man who asked me the question.  
  
"You mean to tell me you survived your encounter with Ace Giatzsune?!" The taller one asked, shocked.  
  
"Yeah..." I answered, not sure of why they were so surprised.  
  
"AH! You aren't human! I'm getting out of here!" The taller one said, running for his life.  
  
The shorter one was about to run when I grabbed him and held him there. He started to struggle a bit, before I tried to settle him down.  
  
"Hey! I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask you something that's all." I said.  
  
The man settled down a bit. I grinned sheepishly at him. I pushed him down into the chair next to me.  
  
"So, tell me what you know about Ace." I inquired.  
  
"Well, he is a legendary Bounty Hunter. As much as you are,.. sir. He is incredibly talented and has the best shot around. No one has ever survived an encounter with him and livid to tell about it. He is an ace gunman who once took out the next highest ranking bounty, next to yours." The short man said, no longer really frightened of me now.  
  
"Is that all you really know about him? I see. He was really good, I can tell you that, but nothing I couldn't handle if a crowd wasn't around." I said, talking more to myself then him.  
  
"You really survived against him, didn't you?" He said, leaning in.  
  
"Yeah. After I countered his bullet, he opened up his gun and starting firing. If a crowd wasn't around, I would have beaten him, but I couldn't let anyone get hurt. So, I took a bullet for a woman. I didn't even notice my arm was shot off either!" I said, laughing at the end like it was a joke.  
  
I had learned to live with getting things taken away from me. As long as I was the only one hurt from that little quirrel, I didn't care.  
  
"Y-you're not human!" The man exclaimed.  
  
I grinned at him. "Sure I am! I'm just really good at shooting. Oh, and you can go now."  
  
He quickly got up and ran out the room as fast as his legs could carry him! Wolfwood walked in when the guy ran out. He watched the man run for a bit, before turning back to me.   
  
He had a cig. in his mouth and his hands in his pockets. He titled his head just a bit before speaking ot me. "Another fan?"  
  
"Yep. Too bad he didn't want an autogragh huh?" I said with a grin. Woflwood took a drag before walking over to me.  
  
He settled down in the chair beside my bed. He looked over at the open package. This was the first time he visited me since I was awake.   
  
"I see you opened my gift." He said through his cig.  
  
"Yeah. Nice poem too."   
  
"I thought you would like it. It only took my five seconds to come up with though."  
  
"Trust me, I could tell. But, thanks for the thought."  
  
"Welcome."  
  
We both smiled at each other. Then I blinked. "Hey. You aren't suppose to have cig.s in a hospital."  
  
"I know. I had to sneak it in." Wolfwood said before taking another drag. He took it out and put it out on the desk beside me, leaving a slight singe mark.  
  
"I'm going to get in trouble for that you know." I said to him.  
  
"Not my problem. So, when are you getting out of here?"   
  
"I don't know. The doctor said I'm not fully recovered yet. I feel good enough though. I want to go to the city where my dad got his machine arm. I think they could make me one just like it. I'm not sure how long I can stay on my feet without my other arm." I said, looking down at the now stub for my arm.  
  
"Well, I could help you get there in about a month from where we are. It's going to take awhile to get there no matter how you purpose we get there. Even by sand steamer, it would take about two weeks. By Thomas, about five weeks. Walking, about two months. Your choice." He said, taking out another cig. and lighting it.  
  
"Well, Thomas is out of the question. I can't ride those things. Walking, might be the best answer, but I do have enough money to take a sand steamer, but that would make a serious cut in my pocket." I said, going over every option.  
  
"So, are we going to start now?" He asked me.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked him.  
  
"Do you really mean you're going to stay here until the doctor says it's ok for you to leave?" Wolfwood questioned.  
  
"Umm. I .. Well,.. sort of. I feel fine right now. So, what do you purpose we do?" I asked him, giving a slight grin.  
  
"Well, we could always break you out of here. The girls are in a hotel not too far from here, ready to go." Wolfwood answered.  
  
I thought about it, but there really wasn't much to think about. I had to get there as soon as possible. That was my only hope of ever getting an arm. So, I nodded to him and got out of bed. I stretched out my muscles and bones that had been unmoving since I got shot. I was stiff in my back and legs. I cracked my back and did some more movement before I turned back to Wolfwood.  
  
He was getting up and handed me my bag that he brought with him.  
  
"Thanks." I said.  
  
"No prob. Now let's get moving needle-nose. We don't have all day you know."  
  
I ran into the bathroom and quickly changed into my normal clothes. The only difference being, I didn't have an arm to put into my sleeve. It was also much harder then usual. I struggled to get my shirt over my head. When i finally got everything on right, I came out of the bathroom, with my empty sleeve tucked into my pocket.  
  
"How do I look?" I asked him.  
  
"As stupid as usual. Now let's get going." He said, getting up for the chair and walking with me out of the room.   
  
We continued down the hallway, until we bumped into my doctor.  
  
'Uh oh.' Was my only thought.  
  
"You aren't suppose to be out of bed!" He exclaimed, tring to push me back into the room.   
  
"hey! I want to leave!" I protested. I turned around. "I can walk, eat, breath, drink and everything else, so why do I have to stay?"  
  
"Because your wound hasn't finished healing yet." The doctor said, pointing a finger to my arm.  
  
"Ohh! But doc! I can take care of it! Wolfwood, you'll make sure I do right?" I asked, looking up at him with sappy eyes.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." He said, turning his head.  
  
"See? I'll be fine!" I said, waving my hand at hand. A smile on my face, showing I was fine.  
  
"Really?" he asked, then poked my wound.  
  
I felt razor sharp pain travel through my body. I grabbed my shoulder and started to cry, well, more like wail. I was almost bouncing off the walls, running around wailing, until I ran into a wall that was.  
  
I hit the ground and looked up. The doctor was shaking his head at me and Wolfwood looked like he was going to die of embrassment.  
  
I cleared my throat. "See? It didn't hurt that much."  
  
The doctor grabbed me by my ear and dragged me back into the medical room. He pushed me onto the bed.  
  
"Now you stay there until you're ready to leave!" He advised before leaving the room.  
  
I sighed. This was going to take longer then I thought.  
  
"You're an idiot, needle-nose." Wolfwood said, while walking over to the window.  
  
"Yeah, well, it hurt." I said, rubbing my shoulder.  
  
"Of course it did." He said, pushing open the window. I was glad he did that. The smoke traveled out of the room. I still wasn't ued to his smoking.   
  
"Well, how are we going to get out now?" I asked him.  
  
"The window." He said.  
  
"The window?" Then I smacked myself in the forhead. OF COURSE! It was only a two story drop. That wasn't anything compaired to what I've had to jump from for the past two years. Really, it started before that. I was usually running from bullies, but that's a whole 'nother story.  
  
"Come on. We don't have time to wait on you be raiding yourself for your own stupidity." He said, jumping out the window. I was about to follow him, when I looked over at the gifts and cards. I quickly threw as many as I could into my bag, before I tied the knot of it, then jumped out the window.  
  
"What took you?" He asked.  
  
"I forgot the cards, so I put them in my bag before I jumped." I said, showing him some of the cards.  
  
"You really keep those?" He asked, slightly shocked.  
  
"Yeah. Well, I kept Meryl and Milly's, a few ones with pictures of the pretty girls of the town, a few with free beer tickets.." I said, listing off some of my gifts.  
  
"They gave you that stuff?" He asked me again.  
  
"Yeah. You feel like going out to drink?" I asked with a grin.  
  
"I would, but we have to be going... but a quick drink wouldn't hurt much." He said with a grin.  
  
"Let's go!" We both shouted, racing to the local saloon.  
*********************************  
Hakura isn't much for beer, but I bet he will be after hanging out with Wolfwood for awhile! lol! Please Review! 


	8. Ace's Story

Sorry about the whole link thing. Just E-mail me at Dbzgirl61@aol.com and ask for the link. Thank you!  
  
And Thank you reviewers!   
  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 8- Ace's Story  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
Ace walked through the desert, poundering over everything that has happened to him in the past few weeks. He was traveling along in a pattern. He was going to go back after Vash the Stampede tomorrow.  
  
Ace found a resting place in the endless sea of sand. he sat down and rested his back against a cool rock surface. He brought his gun up to his chest and started to clean it of sand.  
  
"Hmph." Was the sound he gave as he closed the clamp down on the top of the gun. Sand poured from the gun like running water for a few seconds, before it was all drained. Ace placed his gun next to him and let the shade cool his body off.  
  
'What a strange month I've been having.' Ace thought to himself. He reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a wrapped sandwitch. He unwrapped it and began to eat it.  
  
'That crazy fool of a gunman. Vash the Stampede. Is he the only true challendge I have in this world?' Ace asked himself as he took a bite of his sandwitch. He let out a chuckle for a second, before continuing to eat again.  
  
'I was promised a great challendge. I guess that man wasn't lying to me after all. So, I get my challendge, some great money and a so called 'spot in the world's new ruling'. I wonder what that wacko who sent me after Vash, is planning to do? Take over to world would be my first guess.'  
  
Ace finished his sandwitch and threw the wrapper carlessly over his shoulder. He licked his fingers clean and stared out into the endless iles of sand and heat in front of him.  
  
"I guess it's about time I go back. Soon, I will come after you Vash the Stampede. I've never let anyone in my sights live. I'm not about to start now." Ace said to himself before getting up. he grabbed his gun and slung it easily onto his shoulders.   
  
He continued his endless walk across the unforgiving sands and heat.   
  
******************  
  
Spiltting pain and a throbbing pain. That's the first thing I noticed. I opened my eyes to the bright world around me, only to be sharply kicked in my side.  
  
**Wham!**  
  
I fell off the bed I was on and onto the floor. I rubbed my eyes and looked up. A very angry Meryl was standing over me.  
  
'Uh oh..' Was my first thought. I grinned up at her.  
  
"Morning!" I cheered.  
  
"Don't you 'morning' me. You're suppose to be at the hospital not drunk and passed out in a hotel bed!" Meryl advised, sharply giving me another kick.  
  
"Ouch! I'm injured you know!" I squealed as I grabbed my side.  
  
"If you were really so injured, you'd be in the hospital! Now get up. We're going." She said, walking out of the room.   
  
I slowly lifted myself off the floor and onto the bed. I looked over at Wolfwood. He just woke up and looked like he was ready to pass out again.  
  
"Morning." I said.  
  
"Morning." He said back.  
  
Then we both felt it. We ran into the bathroom and threw up in the tub.   
  
We turned around and leaned against the tub. Both of use grabbing our stomach and groaning.  
  
"Wolfwood... don't you EVER let me drink again." I said.  
  
"Ok." He answered, then turned back around and threw up in the tub again.  
  
We both drunk ourselves silly, then did it again! After that, we drank until we passed out. Woke up and drank until we passed out again. How we survived with that much beer in out stomachs, is a completely mystery to me.  
  
"You wanna take a shower?" Wolfwood asked me with a slight grin.  
  
"Nah. You can though." I said.  
  
"Nah." He said. We both helped each other up and into the room. He somehow got on clothes and made it outside the room. Only to turn back, run into the bathroom and deposite some more of our meal into the tub.  
  
Meryl and Milly gave us glares. It kinda looked funny on Milly though. You don't expect her to glare at you. She just isn't that type of person.  
  
Now, Meryl on the other hand. When she glares at you, you know that woman has had years of practice perfecting her glare. It made you feel like you shrank to the size of an ant when she glares at you. It's most nerve racking.  
  
Wolf and I hung our heads like childern in trouble as we were berated by the two women in front of us and in front of the whole hotel.  
  
**************************  
  
Ace walked to a quiet, and peacful town. The childern of the town noticed hima nd ran right up to him. Ace giving each child a pat on the head before walking forward.   
  
"Hey Ace! Welcome back!" One kid said to him.  
  
"It's good to be back. But, I'm leaving again tomorrow." Ace said to the kids.  
  
A large groan could be heard through the whole pack of childern. Ace smirked.  
  
"Once I caught this guy though, I'll come back." Ace assured the childern.  
  
Their faces lit up. One child came up to him. A boy with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes.  
  
"Ace? Who are you hunting?" He asked Ace.  
  
"I'm hunting the legendary Vash the Stampede." Ace answered the child.  
  
Surprise looks and and gasps were heard through the small crowd of childern. Then they all started a heated battle on who would win in a fight between Vash and Ace.  
  
Ace smiled down at them, before moving off. He walked up to a small, but nicly sized house. He opened the door and walked in.   
  
An eldery woman had her back turned to Ace. She was cooking dinner, and it's sweet smell was being absorbed into the air. Ace took a deep breath, to smell the food.  
  
He crept up on the woman, silently. Almost like a stalking animal. He slowly came up to her, then grabbed her shoulder, causing the old lady to jump in the air.  
  
She quickly turned around and bashed the person who dared to sneak up on her, on the head.  
  
Her other hand was on her chest, covering her heart. She glared at the interuder.  
  
"Hey Grams! You still got your wits don't ya?" He snickered as he rubbed his head.  
  
"I won't have my life for long when you keep shortin' it by sneaking up on me like that. That and you going off battling all these dangerous bounties! You're going to be the end of me!" She preclaimed as she hugged the man before her.   
  
Ace placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Aww. Don't talk like that Grams! I'll be fine. you just quit your worring. Besides, once I finished this job, I won't have to do this bounty hunting stuff anymore." Ace said, as he directed his grandmother to a chair.  
  
"Who are you goin' after this time?" She asked, sitting down in the chair as Ace continued his speaking.  
  
"I'm hunting a legend. Vash the Stampede himself." Ace said, rather proud of it.  
  
"VASH?! You're hunting him? Why, boy! You've met him! He ain't nothin but a kitty cat! Why are you hunting him?" She said. She had met Vash once. He had came to their town and saved it.  
  
"I know Grams. I met him too. He's the reason why I became a gun fighter. I wanted to move like that. I wanted to help people. But, when I met this guy. I can't tell you his name Grams but I met him out in the desert. He offered me a great chance. I had to take it. All he wanted was for me to kill Vash, then I can gather the reward and the whole town will be set for hunderds of years!" Ace said. He put his hand back on his Grams shoulder, looking her in the eyes.  
  
"I know you're doing what you think is best. I believe in you. I know you will be safe. Vash doesn't kill, so no matter what, a few holes is the worst of my worries. But, I don't approve of you killing this man. He's kind. I don't want to see him hurt either." She said, looking up at him.  
  
"Grams. I know how you feel. But, I believe I won't have to kill him. It might come down to that, but if I can help it, it won't. Somehow, I will gather that reward for Vash, and I will save this town." Ace said.  
  
"I know you will. I'm very proud of you." The woman said, before getting up. She patted his shoulder before going over to the pot on the stove.  
  
Ace smiled at her back. His Gram was the only person on the whole planet who knew who he really was. He was a killer to everyone else, but a loving, caring person to his Gram.  
  
He shook his head.  
  
'I've grown too soft.' He thought to himself, before going to help her prepare dinner.  
  
************   
  
"Walking?!" Meryl yelled almost into my ear.  
  
"Yes. We have to walk. Unless you have enough money to go on a sand steamer that is." I said to her.  
  
"We don't have that kind of money! Besides, something bad always happens when we go on sand steamers." Meryl said.  
  
"Oh, it wasn't that bad Meryl!" Milly said, in her cheerful way.  
  
"So, walking it is girls. We could borrown some Thomas' for you two though. Or we could go to the next town which is close to a bus station. Then, take a bus most of the way there." Wolfwood said, lighting up another cig.  
  
"That sounds like a plan! You two go get Thomas' and wolfwood and I will start walking." I said with a smile.  
  
"That sounds good to me too! How about you Meryl?" Milly said.  
  
"Alright! It's better then walking. Let's go." Meryl said, giving into our plans.  
  
I smiled as we reached the edge of Town. All of us were going to travel to the new city where the people from the SEEDS ship landed. I was going to get a new arm and finally start my true distany. What my true distany is, I don't know. But, I do know, It's going to be interesting.  
  
I looked up to the two bright suns.  
  
'Somewhere, under those two suns, you're waiting for me. Ace Guitzsune. But, I'll be ready for you. I'll be ready.'  
*********************************  
  
Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	9. Never call me Old Man

Sorry about the whole link thing. Just E-mail me at Dbzgirl61@aol.com and ask for the link. Thank you!  
  
And Thank you reviewers!   
  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 9- Never call me Old man  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
Walking was a real drag. Trugging through the open flames of desert land with the sun right on your back, glaring down at you was no way to start an adventure. Sand was everywhere. It was in my shoes, kicked up in my eyes, up my nose and in my ear. And please don't ask how that one happened.  
  
My shoulder were slumped and I felt like I was going to die of thrist. It felt like I was an ice cube stuck on the sun's surface! Quickly melting away into a puddle, which soon drys up like everything else on this dead planet.  
  
I looked over at Wolfwood. He was fairing a little better then I was. His shoulders slumped and sweat stains under his arm and all across his back. He was still carring the huge cross and refused to let anyone else carry it but him. His legs just barely lifting off the ground and being pushed to go foward. Each step as hard as the last one, if not harder.  
  
I knew his pain. I turned back to look in head of us. A small town with a bus station there was in head of us. You could barely make out the town. That is, it could be the town, or just the desert playing tricks on my mind.  
  
I turned and looked over my shoulder. Meryl and Milly were on thomas'. Both girls looking just as tired and thristy as we were. Meryl was slumped in the saddle and looked as though she was about to fall off.   
  
Milly was doing better. She still has a bit of her cheerful smile still on her face. She has ditched the top layer of her outfit and folded it, then placed it in the bag attached to the Thomas saddle.  
  
I turned and looked in head of us. I could feel my legs almost giving out. I pushed them further and harder then before. Town wasn't too far away! It was just a couple Iles away. There was water and food and Donuts there!   
  
With the thought of Donuts on my mind, my stomache growled. I looked down at it and glared.  
  
'This is no time to be hungry!' I thought to myself, almost warning my belly to be quiet!  
  
"Don't tell me you're hungry Needle-nose." Wolfwood said, looking over at me.  
  
"So what if I am? I haven't eaten after I threw-up all of my breakfast." I answered him.  
  
"It's your own fault for drinking so much!" Meryl scolded at both of us.  
  
"Yes Ma'am!" Wolfwood and I called back to her in a military style. We both grinned at each other.  
  
"Men!" She huffed, turning her attention back to the path in head of her.  
  
"Well, if you two are hungry, we could always eat out emergancy supply!" Milly offered, holding out a box of food.  
  
"Oh yeah!" I said, grabbing the box and starting to take somethings from it.  
  
"Hey! Those are only for emergancies!" Meryl said.  
  
"This is! I'm hungry!" I said through a donut, which I found somewhere in the box full of all kinds of foods.   
  
She shook her head at me.  
  
We never stopped to do anything. We continued to walk no matter what. Even while Wolfwood and I ate, we didn't stop. Once we both had our fill, we handed it back to Milly who put it away with the rest of the junk on the Thomas pack.  
  
"That was good!" I answered, rubbing my swollen belly.  
  
"It better have been! That was our last bit of food until we get to the next town." Meryl said, nearly growly it out.  
  
"We left some!" I complained.  
  
"You left four cookies, two sandwitches and a half of a cup cake." She said.  
  
"We still have more sandwitches?!" I asked, going back for the box. Meryl smacked me away.  
  
"No! You're not getting anymore!" She warned.  
  
"Ok.." I answered in a pouting way.  
  
We continued going until we finally reached the city.  
  
**********  
Ace packed up his food packs and water containers. He pulled out his favorite knife and hide it up his sleeve. He re-loaded his gun and slung it over his shoulder. Then grabbed his bag. He put it over his shoulder too. He turned to the door out of his room. His eyes swept the room one more time.  
  
'Soon, I'll be able to rest here forever without worring about war or money.' He thought to himself.  
  
He walked out of the room and faced his Grandma. He gave a gentle smile to her. She smiled back.  
  
"You be careful." She said, hugging him tightly.  
  
"I will Grams. Promise." He said.  
  
"Promise me, you'll come back this time. After this is all through, you'll come back to me." She asked, tears brimming her eyes. Worry, fear, sadness all mixed in her eyes.  
  
"I promise Grams. And I never brake a promise." He said, with a loop-sided grin.  
  
"You never do. Good luck." She said.  
  
"Thanks." He said before leaving the house. He walked to the edge of town without looking back at the town. He stared up at the suns burning in the sky.  
  
'I'm coming for you Vash the Stampede. You'd better be ready for me.'  
  
************  
  
"GAH! I'M ALIVE AGAIN!" I shouted as I drank a tall glass of water. We finally reached the town. The suns didn't seem so bright here.   
  
The building we were in was cooled and shaded. The people seemed a bit more friendly then usual. I smiled at them.  
  
"Thank you very much for the water." I said, nodding at the tender.  
  
"Hey, You're payin' for it. You want another one?" He asked me, as he washed a glass.  
  
"Sure." I answered. The man filled up my glass. I quickly drained that glass too.  
  
I looked over at my company. They were also enjoying glasses of water. I walked over to the table they were at and sat down.  
  
"We should be going pretty soon. I'd like the get an arm as soon as possible if you three don't mind." I said to them.  
  
I could see Meryl grimance at that. Milly's every lasting smile dropped a little at that coment. And Wolfwood just took a drag.   
  
"Of course. I'll go see what time the bus for the town we are going to is leaving." Meryl said, getting up and walked over to the bus station.  
  
Milly got up and walked after her. "Wait Meryl! I'm going to go with you."  
  
I glanced over at Woflwood. He was leaning back in his chair with a cig. in his mouth. His sun glasses were on and his chair was leaning back, only on the back legs.  
  
"Hey Woflwood?" I suddenlyed said.  
  
"What Needle-nose?" He asked.  
  
"When are you and Milly going to tie the knot?" I asked.  
  
Wolfwood nearly swolloed his cig! He fell backwards in his chair, hitting the ground with a crack and a thud. I leaned over the table to look at him. His sunglasses fell to the bridge of his nose and his eyes were wide. Everyone around us, looked down at Wolfwood.  
  
Wolfwood quickly fixed himself and sat back down.  
  
"What kind of question is that?!" He yelled at me.  
  
"Umm.. a good one?" I questioned, not sure what he meant.  
  
I could almost hear him growl at me. "DOn't stick your nose in my business Needle-nose!"  
  
"Man... sorry I asked." I said, crossing my arms and tring to icnore him now. I looked around the quiet building. Some people were playing cards just a few tables away from us. A few men were sitting down at a table talking and drinking away.   
  
The thought of beer stuck in my head. It made me want to throw up again! I quickly covered my mouth to prevent that from happening. I turned my attention away from them and onto the windows. I could see the streets even though the blinds were partly closed. People walking happily by this place, going to their respected homes or shops.  
  
It was a peacful place. Nothing bad could go on around here.  
  
**BOOM!**  
  
The ground shook and tables along with chairs were tipped from the shaking. Wolfwood and I looked at each other, before running outside to see what happened. We ran down the streets, seeing people running the opposite direction we were heading in.   
  
We made it to the place where the explodion happened. There was a group of men, theivies no doubt, robbing an armored car.   
  
"Hey Needle-nose. How many can you take out right now in your condition?" He asked me.  
  
"'Bout half. Maybe all at most." I said, grinning at him.  
  
"Shove it Needle-nose. I'm taking Half and you take the other half." He said.  
  
"But what half do I take?"   
  
"The side you're standing across from Needle-nose!"  
  
"But what if one of my guys, go to your side, or one of your guys go to my side?!"  
  
"Then shot 'em!"  
  
"Who? The guy who walked over to your side or the one-" But I was cut off by Wolfwood hitting me upside the head.  
  
"SHUT UP NEEDLE-NOSE!" He shouted in my ear. "Take out whoever you can get, got it?"  
  
"Yeah..." I said, rubbing my poor ear. It was still ringing! I pulled out my Colt and Wolfwood pulled out his Cross. He flipped the cover off and grabbed two guns.  
  
"Let's go Needle-nose." He said, only glancing over at me.  
  
"Yeah. But don't kill anyone." I answered. We both run out of our cover and started shooting.   
  
A bullet whizzed by my ear, almost hitting me as soon as I came out. They have some seriously good aim! Along with five times the amont fire power we had.   
  
I aimed my gun at the strap of the huge gun one guy had over his shoulder. I hit the straps and the gun fell off, hitting three men as it went, knocking them out. I aimed my gun up and shot one guy in the shoulder. He fell to the ground.  
  
I ran behind a pillar. I hit the ammo button, and the empty shells fell out. I pulled out another pack, and put it in. I flipped the barrel closed and came out of hiding, sorta speak.  
  
I hit a few more people, but there was only a few more to hit. Wolfwood had shot just about everyone. Someone was very trigger happy today.   
  
"Did you really have to shot them all like that?" I asked him as he put away his guns.  
  
"What did you expect me to do? Let them shot me?" He asked.  
  
"No! But you could have just knocked their guns away or something. You're a preist! You're not supposed to shot people like that."  
  
"You sound way to much like your old man kid. Besides, we have to get back to the girls before we get another ear full for shooting all these people." Wolfwood advised before putting his cross over his shoulder and walking back to the dinner we were just at.  
  
"You're right about that one, but next time-" He cut me off in mid sentence.  
  
"Next time, YOU take care of your guys and I'll take care of MINE. I know what I'm doing Needle-nose." He said, pulling out a cig. and smoking it.  
  
"Ok, Mr. King of the world." I said, rolling my eyes.   
  
"That's right and don't you ever forget it." He said, walking into the dinner.  
  
"Whatever, old man."   
  
"What did you call me Needle-nose?!" He asked, turning around.  
  
"What, Old man?" I said, snickering.  
  
"Don't you EVER call me old man."   
  
"Why not Old man?"  
  
"That does it." He said, jumping over to me, hitting me in the face. He didn't put all his force into it. It was more of a friendly punch then anything.  
  
I turned to him and grinned. "Old man!" Then, stuck out my tongue as I ran from him. Wolfwood chased after me, threating to kill me when he caught up. I just grinned and kept calling him old man as I ran away from him.  
  
We pasted by Meryl and Milly on the way. Meryl just shook her head. Milly cheerfully smiled and waved at us as we ran by.  
  
"What a pair of idiots!" Meryl exclaimed.  
*********************************  
  
I know I have been very lazy on this fic. I like this Fic to bits, but I haven't been getting sleep due to a few more cats moving into my neighborhood and my back yard is their hide-out. ::growls:: I'm about to throw a boot at them.  
  
::grins::   
  
Someone asked a very good question in a review! Why is it, that this fic, a very well written ((in my opionon that is)) fic, doesn't have that many reviews, but my half-assed fic 'A 120,000,000,000 couple' has 48 reviews?!?   
  
I know, I have been asking that question a lot too. I've gotten flamed for this story, yet no one flamed me ((that I know of)) on my half-assed fic with tons of spelling errors and very bad grammer!   
  
::starts to pull out her own hair, then notices what she is doing and calmly goes back to typing:: **clears throat**  
  
Anywho, I've been working on drawling a lot lately. They relax me in some weird way. So, I drew a few scenes from here. I drew Ace, and I drew Hakura and Wolfwood drunk, hanging on each other's shoulders for support. and they are both smiling like the Bakas' they really are! ((I LOVE that pic!))  
  
So, if you want the link to those pictures, E-MAIL ME FOR GOD SAKES!   
  
**clears throat again** umm.. yeah.. Well, also, please review! I love reading reviews! I read them a million times, just going over, and over, and over, and over... re-reading all of them. ^_^ Thank you all reviews who reviewed my story!   
  
I LOVE YOU ALL! BYE!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	10. Little Fluffy

Sorry about the whole link thing. Just E-mail me at Dbzgirl61@aol.com and ask for the link. Thank you!  
  
And Thank you reviewers!   
  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 10- Little Fluffy  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
Sticky, icky and down right uck! ((And no I didn't make the OTHER word))  
  
I leaned foward in the seat. There was something not right on my seat. I turned around to only find a huge glob of gum stuck to my seat.  
  
"That's not right!" I said, in a grossed out manner.  
  
"What?" Wolfwood asked, turning around in his seat. He was right in front of me. Him and Milly were sitting together. Meryl and I shared the seat right behind them.  
  
"There's gum all over my seat." I whinned.  
  
"You're a baby." Wolfwood said, turning back around, icnoring me.  
  
"So are you Old man!" I said, sticking my tongue out at him, only to have him catch it.  
  
He pulled my tongue almost out of my mouth, glaring at me.  
  
"I said, you Baka, don't EVER call me Old man ever again!" He said.  
  
"Apha gah,, morf." I said, tring to talk while he still had my tongue in his hand.  
  
He let go of my tongue. I quickly tried to get the taste of cig. off of my tongue!  
  
"YUCK! Wash your Friggin' hands before you do something like that!" I said, cleaning my tongue on my coat. That was just not right!  
  
"I wouldn't have to do things like that if you wouldn't be so stupid needle-nose." Wolfwood answered.  
  
"I'll never understand you two." Meryl said, shaking her head.  
  
I grinned at her. "Don't even try Insurence girl!"  
  
"Don't worry. I stopped tring a long time ago." She answered.  
  
All of us shared a laugh. Things were lose around us now. We all we free with each other. No matter how horrible things I got, I knew they would stick by me. They were my friends. My best friends. My only friends.  
  
"How long until we get there?" I asked.  
  
"About 20 hours until we reach the final stop, then we have to walk for another hour or so to get to the city from there. Unless, we can by some good luck get something to ride on." Wolfwood said.  
  
"Wow! What are we going to do for 20 hours?!" I asked, leaning over the seat to look at him.  
  
"I don't know. Sleep." He answered.  
  
"Aww man! That's boring!" I said, leaning back, forgetting about the gum on my seat. I suddenly yelped and got out. Gum was attached to my back. "Man!"  
  
I reach back with my right arm, tring to get it. I knew I was looking very goofy at the moment. I was dancing around, tring to get it off, when Meryl hit me in the back of the head.  
  
I hit the ground.  
  
"Shut up! You're being rude to the other passengers!" She said.  
  
I looked around. There were three other people on the bus. All asleep.  
  
"Umm.. what other passengers?" I asked, looking up at her.  
  
She growled. I knew it was time for me to quit. I just grinned up at her. She rolled her eyes. She grabbed a paper and pulled the gum off my back. Then cleaned my seat for me. I smiled at her.  
  
"Thank you!" I said, then hugged her, giving her a bear hug.  
  
"Let me go you big ape!" She said, struggling to get out of my hold.  
  
I let her go and grinned at her. Then sat back down in my seat. I didn't feel like getting my butt beat by Meryl in front of strangers.   
  
I sat back and sighed. This was going to be very boring. I knew it was going to be a long trip, but 20 hours?! What kind of crazy person drives for 20 hours? Was the Bus driver inhuman? Was the bus driving itself?  
  
All these crazy thoughts ran through my head. I was tring to find something, anything that would keep my mind off this trip.   
  
'I'm going to go mad if something doesn't happen!' I thought to myself. I was what most people would call 'Hyper active'. It was hard for me to sit still and keep doing one thing for a long time. A 20 hour ride was like a slow death to me.  
  
I stared out the window. Maybe something would catch my eye. NOTHING!  
  
"Hey Insurance girl?" I asked, turning to her.  
  
"Yeah?" She answered, tired.  
  
"You wanna play, 'Eye spy'?" I asked her, almost in a begging manner.  
  
"If it will shut you up, anything." She said.  
  
"Ok. You go first!" I said, excitied about the game.  
  
"I spy something that starts with 's'" Meryl said, not even opening her eyes.  
  
"Umm... sand?" I answered.  
  
"Correct. You win. Good night." She said, getting comfortable and falling asleep.  
  
"Cheater.." I mumbled, turning back to the window. I sighed again. I leaned back in my chair. I put my elbow on the edge of the window and supported my chin with my hand. My eyes were half-way shut. The dark sky played across the window like a movie. The stars above were shinning, in a winking like manner. The five moons shone brightly in the sky, lighting up the ground in a glowing like manner. It was breath taking. I could even see the huge hole in the fifth moon, that my dad made a long time ago.   
  
I turned back to Meryl. She was asleep. I looked over the seat. Milly and Wolfwood were also asleep. I leaned back in my seat again, looking out the window. It was wonderful. I just wished I could share it with someone.   
  
Meryl stirred a little in her sleep. I watched her instead. Her skin was lightly outlined by the moon's light. The shadows played across her face, covering some of her soft skin and curves. Her lips were half covered in shadow too. A light shine on one side, the other dark.   
  
Her lips moved, mumbling a name in her sleep. I held my breath as I leaned further down to hear the name she was calling out.  
  
"Vash.." She called lightly.  
  
I leaned back against the window, still watching her with sarrowful eyes.   
  
'My father.. she loved him didn't she? Why didn't she tell him?' I thought to myself. A tear fell from my eye. I missed him too. I quickly brushed it off.   
  
'It's alright Meryl. I'll protect you. I promise.' I thought to myself.  
  
How I became so sappy over the years, I'll never know. It seems like my emotions always become ten times stronger around Meryl. Not to mention how I always fell like a shattered peice of glass when I think of my father.   
  
I took a deep breath to calm myself. This was no time to be like this. Though, it did take my mind off the trip. This trip was giving me time to confront my own fears and thoughts by myself for once.  
  
Then, I felt warmth on my left shoulder. I looked down. Meryl had found someway in her sleep, to my shoulder. She leaned against me, getting more comfortable.  
  
A warm smile graced my lips. I lifted my stub of an arm out of her way as she snuggled up to my chest. I brought my right arm around and held her there. I leaned back against the window and my seat, getting comfortable myself. I rested my chin ontop of her head and listened to the sound of her breathing.  
  
It slowly lured me into sleep.  
  
*************  
The morning  
*************  
  
((Meryl's POV))  
  
I woke up with a bit of a start. I wasn't stiff like I usually was after a nap on a bus. I felt warmth all around me. It was almost pulling me back into sleep, but I refused it. I could smell the unique scent. It was a mixture though. It was mixture of Vash's Coat, which still smelled like Vash and a mix of what Hakura smelled like.  
  
Those two had completely different scents, but both were intoxicating. Vash's was a light, smell, like you get when you walk into a bakery. Full of wonderful adevntures and kindess.   
  
Hakura's was much different from that. It was a bit rugget. A stronger smell. A smell of flowers mixed with fresh gun power and hairspray.   
  
My eyes slowly opened into the world around me. All I could see was red. A red coat.  
  
'Vash?' I questioned for a second, but remembering I was with Hakura. I looked up into his face. It looked like he fell asleep too. His face wasn't curved into the usualy smile that hide his concern. It was peaceful and relaxed. I knew, he didn't know, that I knew he was hiding all his concern for our sake.  
  
He is such a strong person. It seemed like most of the time, he didn't need anyone at all. That he could just depend on himself to solve everything in the world. He was different from Vash in that way. Vash seemed more like the person who would be glad to help you out, but if he fell, he would need some help getting back up.  
  
Hakura, was so strong. That was the only way to put it. He was strong. Stupid at times, but strong.  
  
I hadn't noticed that I was staring up at him or that he had woken up and was looking back down at me.   
  
*****************  
((Back To Hakura's POV))  
  
The world was blurry and bright. I could feel Meryl's warm body still close to mine. She was apparently still asleep. I almost fell back asleep, when I could fell someone looking at me. You know that tingly feeling you get, like someone is watching you?   
  
I opened my eyes and looked down at Meryl. She was looking right up at me. I could see thoughts dance in her eyes. I wanted to know what she was thinking so badly, it almost hurt. I wanted to unfold all the secerts she had. It lured me into her eyes, thinking like that.   
  
'You baka! Stop looking at her like that! You're not suppose to fall in love remember!?!' I thought to myself.  
  
My thoughts were right. Anyone who came close to me, died, so I kept everyone at an arms length. I blinked, then smiled down at her. One of my cheerful smiles that hide everything I was thinking, or atleast I thought it did.  
  
Meryl blinked and blushed before letting go. She slowly went back onto her side of the seat. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and cracked a few bones, to try to get the little bit of stiffness she had, out.  
  
"Morning." I said to her.  
  
"Morning." She ansered, still blushing a bit.  
  
Oh! I couldn't resist! "Have a nice sleep?" I asked, having to stiffle a laugh at the face she made at me for asking her that.  
  
She just nodded and turned away. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. I turned away from her and looked over the seat. Milly was just waking up and Wolfwood was completely out of it. It looked like he wouldn't wake up for anything in the world!  
  
I had to berate myself, to stop myself from waking him up, very rudely, I might add. He kind of deserved it after he grabbed my tongue like that yesterday, but that was yesterday and this was today. No use fighting over the past.  
  
I sighed as I looked at Meryl.  
  
"How much longer?" I whinned.  
  
"Well, we slept for about 10 hours, so 10 hours left." She answered.  
  
"10 hours?!" I said, shocked. "I'm not going to last that long!"  
  
"What are you complaining about? I have to put up with you." Meryl said, crossing her arms.  
  
"Well, you didn't complain last night." I said, grinning at her.  
  
A blush appeared on her face and she turned away from me. I knew She was going to kill me if I didn't stop this.   
  
Then, the bus stopped. I blinked as I looked around, wondering why we stopped. Wolfwood finally woke up, only to ask the question i was about to ask.  
  
"Why did we stop?" He asked, sitting up in his seat.   
  
The bus driver turned to us, all sappy eyed. "I hit a cat!"  
  
"Really?" I asked. I got up and made my way out of the bus. I walked over to the side and got down on the ground, looking to see if the cat was under it. I searched, until I saw a big black ball of fluff under the bus. I reached under the bus.  
  
"Do you see it?" The bus driver asked me. he was standing right over me. Wolfwood was still on the bus, not really caring. Milly was looking out the window, in concern for the Cat. Meryl was looking out the window also.  
  
"I see it!" I yelled out. The black ball of fluff turned to me. It's big green eyes studied me for a second, like it knew me.  
  
"Hey.. aren't you the cat that followed my dad around for a long time?" I asked, smiling.  
  
The cat seemed to know what I was saying. It walked over to me, only to swipe at my hand I held out to it. I pulled my hand back. Three perfect lines were grazed on my hand.  
  
"Ok fluffy. I've had enough of you. It's time to ake you out. You need to get out from under there." I said, reaching in again. The cat put up a bit of a struggle, before I grabbed the back of it's neck with the loose skin. This didn't hurt the cat at all, only slightly stunned it.  
  
I pulled the black ball of fur from under the bus. Milly cheered, claiming I saved the cat. I looked down at the cat. It's back paw was injured. I carried the cat onto the bus and placed it in my lap, wrapping my loose bottom of my coat tails around the cat to keep it there.  
  
I pulled out ace bandages and wrapped it around the Cat's injured paw. The cat then licked my hurt hand, almost saying it was sorry for it.  
  
I grinned down at the cat. "I'll call you, Little fluffy!"  
  
*********************************  
  
I like that little cat! ^_^ Anyone wanna tell me if the cat is a he or she?! The little black cat from all the ep. of Trigun, is the cat in my story. I know it's real name, but it's hard to keep spelling it over and over and over again. ^_^ I hope you like my story. I put a little fluff in there for all you romantic fans. Don't worry, the next chapter is a little more action packed! I keep my word.   
  
((My word is I put this story under action/adventure too, along with Drama. So, I kinda gotta have all those.))  
  
So, more Wolfwood/Hakura fighting action coming soon! Also some Hakura/Meryl fluff with some Milly/Wolfwood fluff. And, last but not least, some Ace hunting down Hakura! PLEASE REVIEW! 


	11. Bus rides and Donut shops

Sorry about the whole link thing. Just E-mail me at Dbzgirl61@aol.com and ask for the link. Thank you!  
  
And Thank you reviewers!   
  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 11- Bus rides and Donut shops  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
Little fluffy, as I know called the cat, was purring in joy in my lap. Meryl was finally NOT hitting me upside my head, and Milly was talking cheerfully to Wolfwood.  
  
We had four more hours before the trip ended. My butt was numb, my back is sore and I have cat hair all over me! I looked down at the ball of black fluff in my lap. I smiled. The cat was so cute! How could I kick her out of my lap?  
  
"Little Fluffy, do you want some water?" I asked the cat.  
  
The cat looked up at me and 'Meow'. I grinned. I grabbed my bottle of water and opened it. I used the cap as a dish for the Cat.   
  
Little Fluffy drank some water while I tried to have a conversation with Meryl.  
  
"Insurance girl?" I asked.  
  
She turned to me with a tried look. "Yes?"  
  
"How much longer?" I asked her.  
  
"Two minutes sooner then the last time you asked." She answered.  
  
"What are we going to do when we get there?" I asked her.  
  
"Well, were are in the city you need to be in. So, go to the doctor there and ask him for a new arm." Meryl answered.  
  
"Is that all? Will he charge me for it?" I asked her.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Maybe?"  
  
"Yes Maybe."  
  
"How much do you think he would charge me?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Why don't you know?"  
  
"because I don't."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"If you say 'why' one more time I'm going to clock you." Meryl said, with a vain trobbing on her forhead.  
  
"ok." I said with a nervous smile. I looked over the seat. Milly was happily looking out the window and Wolfwood was plain bored.  
  
"Wolfwood."  
  
"Yeah Needle-nose?" He asked in a bored tone.  
  
"What are you going to do when we get there?" I asked him.  
  
"probably go to the saloon and wait for you guys to get done with whatever it is you're doing." he answered, still not looking at me.  
  
"Well, how long do you think it will take for my new arm to be made?" I asked him.  
  
"I don't know. A while I guess."  
  
"oh." I sat back in my seat, then a thought hit me upside my head like a ton of bricks! "Wolfwood!"  
  
Wolfwood turned to me finally, hearing the urgancy in my voice apparently. "What?"  
  
"We completely forgot!" I said, putting a hand to my head. 'Man! How could I forget?!'  
  
"We forgot what?" meryl asked me.  
  
"We forgot about Ace! He's going to be looking for me! What will I do the next time I see him? It was hard enough tring to beat him the first time and now I'm going to have to beat him again! And this time he's going to be mad that we left that town!" I said, completely freaking out.  
  
"It's alright. I left a note for him." Wolfwood answered, smiling. He turned around and sat back down in his seat.  
  
"A note? What kind of note?" I asked him.  
  
***********************  
((Ace's POV))  
***********************  
  
I grimanced as I read the note the bar tender handed me. It was from Vash the Stampede apparently.  
  
'Dear Ace,  
  
I'm sorry I'm not here to fight you again, but seeing as you shot off my arm and all, I have to get a new one. I'm going to meet you at Piliot Town, which isn't far from where I am going. I will challendge you there.   
  
Vash T.S.'  
  
'What a coward! Running like that!' I thought to myself. How dare he leave like this without any notice to me!   
  
I growled as I crumpled up the paper in my hand.   
  
"I will hunt you down and defeat you Vash the Stampede!" I said to myself. I threw the paper away and quickly hurried out the door.   
  
I went to the bus station and got a one way ticket to Piliot town.  
*********************************  
Hakura's POV  
*********************************  
  
"You know, I really don't like your idea of a note." I said.   
  
"Hey, you forgot, so I had to do something needle-nose." Wolfwood asnwered before taking another drag.  
  
"Will you stop calling me 'needle-nose'?" I asked him in a whinny voice.  
  
"No." He answered back.  
  
"You know, you two fight just like You and Mr. Vash would fight all the time." Milly said, looking at Wolfwood.  
  
"You think?" He questioned to her.  
  
"No kidding. Dad said he was one of the nicest guys I'd ever meet and possibly the closest thing he's ever had to a best friend and they fought like we do?" I questioned looking at Milly.  
  
"Yes. All the time." Milly answered with her cheerful smile.  
  
"Well, imagine that." I said, leaning back in my seat. Then I looked over at Meryl.   
  
She was seemly zoned out at the moment. Painful memories dancing through her mind at the moment. So, I nudged her with my elbow.  
  
"Insurance girl. When are we going to get there?" I whinned again.  
  
Then she smacked me upside my head again. "Will you ever just shut up?"  
  
"Oww." I said, rubbing my poor skull. By the time we all got off this bus I was going to have brain damage!  
  
*************************************  
  
We finally got off the bus! I pushed myself to the front of the bus and jumped off as soon as it slowed down! I didn't even wait for it to stop before jumping off. Little fluffy was clinging to my shoulder for dear life!   
  
I ran pasted everything, looking for the town bakery. I was sure hungry!   
  
Wolfwood waited for the bus to stop. Him and the girls got off and waited for their bagage.   
  
Wolfwood's cross was thrown down to him, and the girls gathered up their stuff. They all walked after me, knowing exactly where I was heading.  
  
I grinned as I stared at the window veiw all of the donuts, bagels and breads. My mouth was drooling and Little fluffy was also looking in. She was staring at this fish shaped, hand size donut.  
  
"I didn't know you liked donuts too Little Fluffy." I said, looking at the cat.  
  
Little fluffy meowed happily with the appearence of a grin on her face. I grinned back, before a voice caught our attention.  
  
"What'll you have?" It questioned.  
  
I looked up to see a slightl puggy older woman with an apron on. Her brown hair was tied back into a tight bun. Her brown eyes glazed over at us, waiting for our answer.  
  
"I'll have a four glazed, two Long-Johns, four sprinkled and the rest will be plain." I answered with a smile.  
  
"Sure thing." She answered. She placed all the kinds I asked for into a box and handed it to me. "Anything else?"  
  
"Yes. Two bagels, a glass of water, that fish shaped donut over there please, and do you have milk?"  
  
*******  
  
Wolfwood and the girls walked into the bakery. I was happily sitting with Little Fluffy at a table. We were both eating to our hearts desire. I also got her some a bowl of milk to drink, with a tall glass of water for me. I didn't really like Milk all too much.  
  
"How did we know you were going to be here?" Wolfwood questioned, sitting down next to me. Milly and Meryl sat across from us.  
  
"I don't know." I answered, offering the girls a donut.  
  
"No thank you." Meryl answered.  
  
Milly jumped at the chance and grabbed one. her favorite too. Color sprinkles. "I love these kind, Mr. Vash."   
  
"That's why I got some of those." I answered.  
  
Then the woman served the rest of what I ordered. "Here's your two bagels. She placed those on the table.  
  
"Thank you ma'am." I answered, smiling at her. "I'm going to leave her a tip. She's nice."   
  
"Who are the bagels for?" Meryl asked.  
  
"For you and Wolfwood. I could almost hear your stomaches growl from here." I answered with a bit of a snicker at the end.   
  
Meryl blushes a little, before taking a bagel at hand. Wolfwood just grabbed it and started eating it.   
  
"You're very kind to give us these Mr. Vash." Milly said, smiling at me.  
  
"It's my job. Besides, I don't think you have that much money, do you?" I asked.  
  
Meryl kind of looked away at that. Milly answered me. "Our department has been a bit down sized because of all the money we had to pay for insurance claims. It's funny how most of them had something to do with either you or your dad. Isn't it funny Mr. Vash?"  
  
I gave a painful smile. "Yeah... sure is." I cleared my throat. "Anyway, if you three would be so kind as to point me in a direction..."  
  
"The city has been built pretty quickly and even we don't know where he is exactly. But, you should try over by the fallen ship. It's east of here." Meryl ansered.  
  
"Thanks." I said, shoving two donuts in my mouth, then taking a drink of my water. I left the money owed on the table along with a small tip. Little fluffy jumped up on my shoulder. I quickly made my way to the fallen ship.  
  
'I hope I can get a new arm soon. I know Ace won't wait for long.' i thought to myself, while I was running through the rown.  
  
********************  
  
((Ace's POV))  
  
I sat down on the bus, after putting my bages in their respective areas. I leaned back against the leathery seat and pushed most thoughts out of my mind.   
  
'I will find you Vash and when I do... you'll wish you hadn't been born!' I thought to myself.  
  
I was on a job and nothing, or no one was going to stop me from completely it.   
  
*********************************  
  
So? I'm sorry it took longer then usual. I was kinda busy. And I am sick now. u.u mou...  
  
I'm very tired too. But, I will continue! For the little voices in my head compel me to! hehe... j/k Please review! 


	12. A Bad feeling

Sorry about the whole link thing. Just E-mail me at Dbzgirl61@aol.com and ask for the link. Thank you!  
  
And Thank you reviewers!   
  
And someone told me that the cat was a girl. Then someone told me it was a guy. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!   
  
I'm going to say the cat's a guy from now on.  
  
********************************  
Vash the Stampede JR.  
********************************  
  
Part 12- A Bad feeling  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
Tired. That's how I felt. I had been walking around asking everyone I saw on the streets about the Doctor would made metal arms. Most people just looked at me, then walked away like I was nuts or something. So, I used a different approuch.  
  
"OUCH! OWWWWWWWWW!" I yelled out, while clutching my side.  
  
A few people ran up to me. One man stepped foward and bent down. He looked very concerned.  
  
"What's the problem sir?" He asked me, while his hands hovered over me, not sure of what to do.  
  
"Ow! I think... I'm hurt. Where is the Doctor? The best doctor in the town?" I asked him with a painful expression.  
  
"He's two blocks that way, take a left and continue until you see a huge bell tower. He works there. Would you like me to help you?" He asked, while pointing out the directions.  
  
"No thanks." I said, getting up and running that way. Little fluffy had been curled on my chest but when I hoped up, he hopped onto my shoulder.   
  
I ran down two streets, took a left and continued. I was panting and smiling at the same time.  
  
'Wow! I'm going to get a new arm soon! This is so cool!' I thought to myself.   
  
I skidded to a hault in front of a large bell tower. It was atleast three stories high. The building was made of the usually stone build, with a tan covering to help protect the building from the sands. Windows played out on every level, becomming more common the higher the building you looked at.   
  
I walked up to the wooden door. It was plain, with the usual metal in place to hold it in. I reached for the knob, with a serious look on my face. I grabbed towards the knob and swollowed. The knob started turning before I even touched it! I looked up at the door instead of the knob.  
  
**BAM!!!**  
  
I was thrown up against the wall, while the door smacked me in the face! Someone had threw the door open and it hit me. I was pinned against a door and the building.   
  
"MARPH!" I said, while my mouth was pressed against the door. I could hear little fluffy meowing. He was smart. He jumped off my shoulder before I even reached for the knob!   
  
I could hear an old man's voice from the other side of the door.  
  
"Oh. Hello little kitty. Were is your master?" He asked the cat. He finally let go of the door. I quickly got out from behind it, breathing heavly when I did.  
  
The old man looked at me. "Where did you come from-..... VASH!" He cried the last part.  
  
I blinked a few times. "..yeah. Hey Doc!"  
  
"Come on in! It's been awhile." He said, pulling me into the house/tower.   
  
He put me in a chair, and went to make something to drink.   
  
The tower sure was... large. There was a wooden table in the middle of the room, with two chairs on each side. Pasted that, was a large kitchen. It didn't have an tile or anything, just a stove, frig., counter and some cabnets made of metal.   
  
Next, there was a living space. It had furnishing in it. A few chairs, a sofa, and a knee high table in the middle of it.   
  
I turned to my right. There was a medical room. It was stalked with medical equipment and lost tech. gear. I blinked, before turning back to the old man.  
  
"It's been over two years since I last saw you. What have you been doing?" He questioned, placing the drink in front of me.   
  
I looked down at it, watching the tea blend with the sugar in it. "Well, I've been on a training mission."   
  
I could see Little fluffy in the corner of my eye. He was settling down on the sofa. Apparently he was going to take a nap.   
  
I grabbed the small handle on the side with fingers slipping through it while my hand grasped the cup in my palm. I lifted the cup to my lips and took a sip. It was good. A bit hot, but good.  
  
"A training mission? Did you beat Knives? Is Knives still alive?" He questioned, sitting down across from me, sipping his own drink.  
  
"No. I've just been training that's all. I don't have to worry about Knives anymore. No one does." I answered, with a wavering look on my face. I sipped the drink again.  
  
"Oh. Well, do you want to check up on old times? Why is it you came?" He questioned, putting his drink down.  
  
"Well..... I kinda lost my arm." I answered, holding up my stub.   
  
The doctor shook his head at me with a hint of a smile playing on his lips. He gave out a small chuckle before looking back up at me. "Lost it? That was one of my best arms too! I am working on a better one though. It won't be done for about another Month. Maybe a week if I pull all-nighters."  
  
"I don't want you wearing yourself out because of me. I can wait." I said, still not quite looking him in the eye. I felt like I was lying to the man, because I didn't tell him that I'm not Vash.  
  
"It something wrong Vash? you seem abit distant." He questioned.  
  
"It's nothing really. I was just thinking about something." I answered, not fully lying. That didn't help at all.  
  
"You're not Vash are you?" He suddenly blurted out.  
  
I looked up at him in shock. No one could tell I wasn't him! Even though I had a scar, and was two inches shorter, they still couldn't tell! How could this old man, who I kinda thought was abit blind since he put salt in his tea instead of sugar, be able to tell?  
  
He chuckled again. "I knew you weren't Vash with the way you looked at me. Vash doesn't look at me like that." He said. SIghing before he continued. "I'm just wondering who you are."  
  
"I'm Hakura. Vash's son." I answered.  
  
"His son? He told me about you before. He was right! You are a little double of him." He said, chuckling again.  
  
I couldn't help but smile. I felt like I could be myself around this guy. I felt comfortable around him, like he was a grandfather or something.  
  
"So, you want a new arm? Tell me. What happened to the other one?" He questioned.  
  
"It got shot off by a bounty hunter named Ace." I said with a shrug.  
  
"The bounty hunter's getting to you huh? That's a new one. Say. Where is Vash? I would like to caught up with him." The doctor said, leaning in abit.  
  
I bit my lip and looked away. How could I tell him? This was horrible! I just met up with someone, who seems to like me, only to tell them that there friend is dead.   
  
"Something happened to him, didn't it? With his fight with Knives?" The doctor questioned, sitting back into his chair. I could almost see that he was growing older by this.   
  
"Yes. The two killed each other. Knives basically killed himself with the strain of killing Vash though." I answered, looking yet again down at my drink. The swirling of the cream and sugar in the dark liquid was soothing to look at.  
  
"It's alright boy. I understand. This old man is getting used to his close friends dying on him. Atleast soon I will meet up with your father in heaven. I see you are living up to his name for him." The doctor said.  
  
I still wasn't looking at him. Tears were threating to spill out of my eyes and into my cup. I quickly pushed them away along with sad thoughts.   
  
"Yes. He asked me to fill in his place when he died. That was his last request. I don't know why he would want me to do this though. He said he didn't want to burden anyone with what he had to go through, but yet he asked me to take his place."   
  
I heard the doctor sip his drink yet again. "Do you have some sort of idea why he would do such a thing?"  
  
"Yes. In fact, I think he made me go through all of this so I could grow stronger. I need it after all." I said, still not looking up.  
  
"For what? For what..?" The doctor questioned.  
  
*********************  
((Wolfwood's POV))  
  
Meryl and Milly unpacked their stuff in the hotel rooms while I went outside to smoke. I puffed my cig. while I watched the sky.  
  
Something was going to be stirred up around here. I could feel it. Something was here that was unpleasent.   
  
That or that bagel I ate was giving me a stomach ache.  
  
I took another drag before dropping my cig. to the ground and putting it out. I leaned further onto my cross punisher. It scrapped up against the stone. The cloth around it was dirty, getting my white sleeve cuff dirty. I didn't mind. Everything else on my body was dirty because of the sand blowing around here.  
  
It was unavoidable. You'd get sand everywhere on you. It's something you got used to after a while on this planet. It was everyday here.   
  
I lifted my sunglassed over my eyes and peered around. The sun was bearing down, causing anyone who didn't find shade after awhile, to have a heat stroke.   
  
A few drops of sweat found it's way down my cheek and onto my chin before dripping down onto the ground. I blinked, before putting my sun glassed back on.   
  
My mind traveled over to the needle-nose. I started wondering what he was doing. He had been gone for awhile. I had half the mind to go look for him, but I didn't want to leave the girls After having that bad feeling.  
  
If anything every happened to those two.... God knows what I'd do.  
  
*******************  
  
((Hakura's POV))  
  
After explaining everything to him about meeting up with Vash's old friends, then meeting Ace. I told him about my training and about why I thought I needed to grow stronger. Then, about something I wanted him to make.  
  
"Something's comming. A very big thing. I don't know what, but I've felt something." I explained to the best of my ability.  
  
"I know what you mean. Something is comming. I've been researching recent power levels in the power plants everywhere on Gunsmoke. The levels have been raising even in some I thought were dead. Something or someone is controlling them and getting ready to do something." He answered back.  
  
I nodded my head. So.. I was right. Father must have senced something too. That's why he sent me out. He knew I could handle almost anything that came my way. And if I didn't grow stronger, I would die along with Gunsmoke.  
  
'It all makes sence now.' I thought to myself. I glanced at the doctor. "What's the soonest you can start on it?"  
  
"I'll start right now." He answered.  
  
*********************************  
  
So? My dad has been hogging the computer and I couldn't get a sentence written until I woke up early one day and started on the story. 


	13. The new arm

Sorry this update took so long! I've been really busy! I hope you all can forgive me   
  
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Vash the Stampede JR.  
  
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Part 13- The new arm  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
Two weeks of doing nothing. Two weeks of sitting still. Two weeks of GOING INSANE!   
  
"IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING QUICK I'M GOING TO GO INSANE!!" I yelled, grabbed the sides of my head with my hands.   
  
Wolfwood patted my back to calm my down. "It's alright needle-nose! If you're really that bored, let's go have ourselves a drink."  
  
Meryl gave us the evil eye. Both of us gulped.   
  
"Umm bad idea Wolfwood.." I said to him.  
  
"I agree.. then I guess, we can always go check on how far your arm is coming along." Wolfwood said.  
  
"Good idea. You want to come too Insurance girls?" I asked them.   
  
"I have to write the company report about the damages you caused in the hotel room.." She said, her left eye twitching.  
  
I gulped again. "Ok.. How about you Milly?"   
  
"I would love to go.. but I have to help Meryl sort through some of the company papers." She answered back, still not letting work take away her cheerful smile.  
  
"Ok then." I said, waving good-bye to them.   
  
Wolfwood and I walked down the road together. He was carring his cross over his shoulder. A cig. in his mouth as usual. His sunglasses placed over his eyes. His right hand which wasn't carring the cross was in his pocket.   
  
I glanced down the road. We all decided to stay close to where the doc worked. Well, I kinda decided we should stay by his place. I couldn't wait to get my new arm! What really concerned me was the fact that Ace was out there looking for me. He wasn't that hard to get around, but he certainly was going to be more prepared this time. He saw how I dodged the bullets. there was a good chance he was going to be more prepared for me this time.   
  
I sighed. Heavy thoughts like that wore me out. I was hardly ever serious anymore. I couldn't take the strain of it! To me, serious is something that only comes around when you can't have a good time and get too caught up in life.  
  
We reached the Doc's place before I reliezed it. Wolfwood had to snap his fingers in front of my face before I snapped back to the real world. I knocked on the door, which swung open as soon as I did.  
  
The Doc looked at us, grinning ear to ear. He had bags under his eyes showing he was working harder then usual for me. His eyes themselves looked worn out from all the work. His skin was pale, compaired to what it was when we first meet.  
  
"I have a surprise for you." he said in a cheerful voice.   
  
I smiled down at him. "You've been working yourself too hard."  
  
"Non sence boy! I'm fine! I haven't felt more alive in a long time." He said with a chuckle at the end of his sentence. He really was in high spirtes.  
  
We walked in and sat down in the living room. Little Fluffy had been spending a lot of time over at the Doc's as of lately. The Doc enjoyed little Fluffy's company. Liffy Fluffy barely stirred from his sleep on the table from the sudden noise.  
  
"Here you go." He said, holding out a breifcase to me.   
  
I took it into my lap and opened it. It was an arm! A brand new arm! It looked very high tech. Wires connected to each other and looks of little microchips inside. You could barely hear the humming of the circuts working together. It was covered from the wrist to the fingers in a fake plastic skin. I turned the arm over. You could barely make out a gun inside of there. My eyes widen. It was a machine gun inside!   
  
"I see you like the gun. It can fire up to four rounds in under a minute! One of my greatest works yet." The doc said, smiling at me.  
  
"It's great! You must have worked hard on it for it to be working like this in such a short time." I said, in a chipper voice. This was the best thing in the world to me! It was a new arm!   
  
"Let me put it on for you." The Doc said, walking over to me to attach the arm to my shoulder.  
  
"So, what you're saying is it's going to be better then Needle-noggin's arm?" Wolfwood questioned. We knew by now when he said 'Needle-noggin' he ment my Father.  
  
"That's correct. It will work just as good as his old arm. But, it will hold more strength in it and more indurence then his old arm. Also, it has a gun inside of it. I thought you could really use it." He said, grinning at me as he placed the arm on by stub.  
  
"That's great news! You're the best Doc." I said, smiling at him.   
  
"Thank you Hakura." He answered as he finished his work on my arm. "It should work now."  
  
I started to move it around to test it out. I moved the fingers first, then the elbow. Everything seemed to be working just fine.   
  
"Try to move each finger by itself." The doc ordered.  
  
I tried, but sometimes it would move two at a time instead of just one. It didn't bother me at all. Atleast I could move it! That was good enough for me. It felt weird having a metal arm. I felt like I was part robot or something. Though, I am half Plant.. so technically.. I kinda am part robot already..  
  
I shook my head of my thoughts.   
  
"mmm.. Try to bring the gun out." He said.  
  
"Alright." I answered, concentraiting on brining out the gun. I narrowed my eyes a little, thinking out it. Nothing happened. "Doc. It's not working."  
  
"Well, try to move it like you were moving part of your body." He suggested.  
  
Wolfwood was watching us intently. He didn't bother to talk at all, just watched.  
  
"I'll try." I said. I thought of it like a limb. So, I tried to move it like that. It moved! My arm opened up and out popped the gun. My hand moved below my arm, and held onto the trigger. I did it!  
  
"Very good. Now, try to put it back." He said.  
  
I tried to put it back, but before I could I sneezed.  
  
******  
  
Ace's POV  
  
******  
  
I looked out of my hotel room. I reached the town of Piliot already and had been waiting for tha coward Vash the Stampede to show up. I sat down in a chair near the window. I polished my brand new gun. It was faster at firing and could hold more bullets. I put the clip inside of it, then put it in it's hoster.   
  
I stood up and strapped the hoster on my belt. I glared out the window.  
  
"If you don't come soon Vash, I will chase after you! You Coward!" I yelled out the window.  
  
******  
  
Hakura's POV  
  
******  
  
"ah ah... sorry!" I said, rubbing the back of my head.  
  
Wolfwood and the Doc popped their heads up form behind the flipped over sofa. The whole place was a wreak! When I sneezed I pulled the trigger. Let's just say.. all hell broke loose after that.  
  
Papers floated down to the ground with bullet holes through them. The ceiling fan fell from the ceiling. Little fluffy didn't move but was now staring at me. His eyes seemed to say 'You Baka.'   
  
I blushed in embrassment. "I'll clean it up!"  
  
"NO! No.. It's ok Hakura. I'll just clean up." The Doc said, getting up. "Please.. put the gun away."  
  
"Alright.." I said, putting it away. "I'm really, REALLY sorry Doc!"  
  
"It's alright. Just.. just leave. I'll get it all cleaned up." He said with a smile. "I needed to throw some things out anyways."  
  
"Ok.." I answered, walking out. Wolfwood followed me, then smacked me upside my head.  
  
"You damned Needle-nose! You could have killed somone you know that!" He yelled at me.   
  
"I said I was sorry!" I answered back, rubbing the back of my head.   
  
"I should hurt you really badly for that one Needle-nose." He continued, bringing out another crooket cig. from his jacket and putting it into his mouth. He lite it up and took a deep breath.  
  
"Can't I make one mistake? It was by complete accident!" I said in a whinning voice.  
  
Wolfwood smacked me again. "Just Shut up Needle-nose!"  
  
I stuffed my hands into my pockets and looked away. "Yeah.. ok."  
  
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Please review! 


	14. Vash's Bad day

^_^ Hello! This chapter took me awhile to write mainly because I wanted to add in the story's bad guy in this chapter! He's fully introduced in this chapter! Hope you like it! See ya!  
  
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Vash the Stampede JR.  
  
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Part 14- Vash's Bad day  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
"Holy cheese and crackers!" I yelled as I dove under the bed. I really didn't want to face what was after me. I held me knees to my chest in fear of what was after me. It was the most horrorible thing in the world! The one thing I was dreafully afraid of! And it was in my room and mad!  
  
"HAKURA!!!" Meryl screamed as she turned my only cover over. I gave a nervous grin up at her... she was going to kill me..  
  
"Umm.. hiya.." I said with a huge sweatdrop on my forehead.  
  
She growled at me and grabbed my colar, pulling me to my feet.   
  
'Boy! She's stronger then I thought!' I thought to myself.  
  
"Hakura! I told for a thousand times this week!! Don't you DARE, EVER PEEK ON ME IN THE SHOWER AGAIN!" She screamed, bashing me upside the head a few dozen times. I laid on the ground sporting a lot of lumps.   
  
Pain was throbbing in my head everytime my heart would beat. I sighed as she stormed out of my room. Wolfwood was in the room with me. I completely forgot he was there. Currently he was rolling on the ground laughing his ass off at me.  
  
"It's not that funny..." I mumbled, rubbing my still tender head.  
  
"Yes it was needle-nose!" Wolfwod said, his laughter bringing him to tears. He was clentching his side and rolling on the ground laughing.  
  
"SHUT UP OLD MAN!" I shouted at him. That got his attention. He got up and bomped me on the head. I yelled in pain and started to cover my head with my arms.   
  
"I didn't hit you that hard." He said, taking out a bent cig. and putting it on his mouth.  
  
"You hit me right where she did. Now it hurts even worse." I said in whinning voice. I continued to rub my tender skull.   
  
"You deserved it." The smoking priest exclaimed, nearly knocking me on the head agin. He settled down and decided to leave before he cause me real harm. But he had to ask something before he did. He turned back to me. "Why did you peek on her anyways?"  
  
"Well,.. my dad said she had the cutest birth mark on her butt.. and I wanted to see it." I said, blushing and drawing circles on the floor with my index finger.  
  
"..How did your dad know?" Wolfwood questioned through his cig.  
  
"How should I know?" I questioned, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.   
  
"Nevermind. That dog. I knew they got it on." Wolfwood said with a smirk.  
  
"SICK!" I said with my tongue hanging out of my mouth. "I don't want to hear what my dad did! YUCK!"  
  
Wolfwood shook his head at me before leaving me to myself. I rubbed my head again for good messure. It was still hurting a lot. I got up and fixed my bed before deciding to go out into the town. I needed some donuts and to sing. I hadn't had a single performance since I met up with them.  
  
I really missed it too. So, I shrugged my shoulders and went out to do just that.  
  
********  
  
A man cloaked in shadows watched as the vermen drank down their alcohalic drinks. The man sneered as he watched them drink away.  
  
'What flithy vermen all of them are.' He thought to himself. His nose wrinkled at the smell of the men at the bar. His fingers tencing up, wanting to reach of his gun and kill them all off. He hated all of them. They were degusting creatures who killed the weak and depended on plants to survive.   
  
He always felt himself become sick when he was in their presents. Such weak beings deserved to die. They were nothing but pitiful spiders. Half.. of what he was.  
  
He threw his glass against the wall. It shattered in a hunderd shards as it fell to the ground. The noise did not go unnoticed by everyone. They turned in his direction. He didn't care about them. Soon, they would be dead.  
  
'Father.. why did you allow youself to die?' He thought to himself. He growled in fustraition.   
  
The woman waistress came by him. A nervous look on her face. She had been leachered all day by these men. But this man.. scared her more then any of the other ones. She held her arms close to herself, trying to stay as far away from the man as possible.  
  
"Is something wrong sir?" She questioned, her fear appearent in her voice. The man shot from his seat, causing the woman to scream in fright from his movement. She flinched and held her arms in front of herself, preparing herself for a blow. But.. it didn't come.  
  
"Nothing is wrong Verman." He answered, grabbing his bag. he slung it over his shoulder and passed the woman. But before he did, he whispered something to her.   
  
She shuddered at his voice, too scared to move from her spot. The man smirked at her fear, savoring the smell of it, before walking out of the saloon. Everyone returned to what they were doing, besides the woman. She fell to the ground.  
  
A man ran up to her and checked her. Her skin was pale, almost the color of pure white. Her fingers gripping onto her serving tray so tight, her skin broke. Her pupils were the size of a needle, and wide open. Her heart had stopped.  
  
The man looked up. "She was.. scared to death.." Everyone turned and looked at the swinging doors. The man was no longer in sight.  
  
**********  
  
"VASH!" A voice ran out to me. I was walking down the road, minding my own business. A donut was sticking out of my mouth and the box was in my hands. I turned to see who called out for me. It was none other then Ace.   
  
We have arrived in Piliot town the day after I got my new arm, but we didn't see Ace anywhere. But, there he was. Calling out my name with a shiny new gun in his hand.   
  
"Phce?! Morph wa phu." I yelled with the donut still in my mouth. Wolfwood was standing next to me. He hit me in the back of the head.  
  
"Swollow you idiot!" He yelled at me. I quickly chewed up my donut, then swollowed it.  
  
"Did you have to hit me so hard?" I whined back at Wolfwood. Wolfwood glared at me. It was hard to tell if he did because had his sun glasses on.   
  
"Needle-Nose! Pay attention!" He yelled at me.   
  
"Are you two quite done?" Ace asked, rolling his eyes at us. I grinned at him with a blush on my face.  
  
"Yeah.. we're done.." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. I handed the box of donuts to Wolfwood. "Keep them safe for me."  
  
I turned to Ace and started to walk towards him. I stopped half way to him and stared at him. I pulled my sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on. The world turned to an orange tint through the glasses.   
  
Ace held up his brand new gun. His classic black, high cuffed coat on. He put on his black sun glasses, and brushed back a bang behind his ear.   
  
"You ready, Vash the Stampede?" He questioned.  
  
The crowd around us gasped and stared at me. I could feel the hot looks some people were giving me. I smiled at him.  
  
"So. How long did you really wait anyways?" I questioned him.  
  
"Long, the damn, enough." He answered back with a smirk.  
  
"So. What now?" I questioned, my hand hovering over my Colt.   
  
"We draw." He answered, pointing his gun at me. I grabbed my Colt.   
  
He fired at me, and I fired. The bullets hit each other and stopped one another. Ace smirked at me.  
  
"And here I was afraid you became rusty." He said, pulling a leaver. The gun popped open with eight barrels pointing at me. He smiled devilishly at me. I smiled back at him.  
  
"Not only that.. but I have a few more tricks." I said, smirking. I held up my new arm.   
  
He eyed it for a few seconds. Then his eyes went wide. "Y-you got a new arm?"  
  
"That's right." I said smiling at him. He pointed my gun right at him. "So. Will you continue this senceless fight, or give up?"  
  
"I'll never give up!" He yelled, firing his gun at me. Eight bullets launched out of the gun, heading straight for me! I fired my Colt til it was empty. I dropped it, before pointing my arm at the bullets. I closed my eyes and concentraited. I still hadn't prefected thsi yet. I heard the rip of the leather on my arm,and the sound of metal grinding.   
  
The smell of gunpower and grease entered my nose. I opened my eyes. My gun arm was working. The gun was out and my other arm was holding it. The kick was more then I thought it would be. I had skidded back four feet.   
  
Ace was looking at me with wide eyes. I stared at him. "Will you end this now?"  
  
"Never." He answered back firing again. I shot my gun arm again, hitting all the bullets. This time I aimed my gun at him. I fired. I hit his gun out of his hands. This was my chance! I ran as fast as I could over to him. I was planning on knocking him out.   
  
He was a step inhead of me though. He pulled out a knife and aimed it right at my throat. My gun arm was aimed right at his head. My other hand was grabbing his hand, to stop the knife. His other hand was holding onto my gun arm, to stop me from firing. We stared at each other.  
  
"You're fast." I said.  
  
"So are you." He said, flipping his knife back. He put it away. He stood back and smirked at me. "I admire you for not shooting me Vash. I know you could have. You could have killed me."  
  
I stood back, putting my arm gun away. "I could never kill anyone."   
  
We stood there looking at each other, wondering what the other was thinking. Who will be the first person to make peace?  
  
"Oops.." Wolfwood said, as he looked at the donuts. He had dropped the box without knowing it. My jaw dropped to the ground as I looked at them.  
  
"NOOO!!!!!!!!!" I yelled.   
  
Ace couldn't help but crack up at that. I started to run around, whining about my poor donuts. How could Wolfwood do such a thing?   
  
I turned to Ace. ".. You're laughing at me.."  
  
Ace stopped laughing. He walked up to me. "I think we still have a crowd." He said, nodding his head to the rather large crowd of people watching them.   
  
I blinked a few times in confusion. "Man... Now they all know.. great.. Guess I can't come back here.."   
  
I sighed and went to gather my things. Wolfwood quickly followed me, patting me on the shoulder. "That was easier then what it should have been. How could you predict his moves like that?"  
  
"I watched him closely when we fought before. I knew he what he was going to do before he did it." I explained, walking over to the nearest Donut shop.  
  
"Hey Needle-Nose! I thought you were going to pack first." Wolfwood said.  
  
"Well, I need my daily dose of donuts. I'm starving!" I complained, holding my hands to my stomach for effect.   
  
"Vash. Don't think this is over." Ace said, walking up to me. One hand was in his pocket and the other by his side.   
  
"I guess not. Are you after stupid reward?" I asked him.  
  
"Sort of. I was really asked to hunt you down by a guy I met." He said.   
  
"Wait til we get into a private place first Ace. I think I know the guy you're talking about. there is a good chance he has someone spying on you." I said, grabbing my new box of donuts. The Woman was eyeing me, watching my every move. That kind of got me nervous! I paid for the box and headed up stairs.   
  
We all sat down in chairs. Meryl and Milly were also there. Wolfwood was leaning against the wall next to his cross. A cig. in his mouth and the sunglasses still on.   
  
"For God's Sake Wolfwood! Open a window if you're going to smoke in here." I said, waving my hand in front of my face. The smoke was filling up the room already.  
  
"Alright." He grumbled, opening a window.  
  
"As I was saying. I met the man in the desert." Ace said.  
  
**Flash Back**  
  
A man who was standing in the way of one of the suns stood in front of Ace. A devilish smile on his face. You could only make out his teeth and one of his eyes.   
  
"Who are you?" Ace questioned, holding up an arm to get the glare out of his eyes.  
  
"That is none of your concern. I am here to ask you a favor." He said with a sneer.  
  
"What type of Favor?" Ace asked, not liking to tone of in this person's voice.  
  
"You want your 'Grams' to live peacfully and the town to have enough money to get decent water.. do you not?" The man questioned.  
  
Ace growled at the man, clentching his fists. "What do you know about my town?"  
  
"All I know if, you need money. Well, I got a job that will get you all the money you need. $$60 billion to be exact." The man said.  
  
"You mean.. hunt down Vash the Stampede? Why would I want to do that? Wouldn't he just kill me off?" Ace asked, lighting up a cig. He took a drag before putting his hands into his pockets. The cig. still in his mouth. "Besides, if I wanted the money I would have went after it. I don't need you to order me around."  
  
"This is my point. You can't take him down with your gun. You need this." The man said, holding out a brand new gun. Ace reached for it. The man gave it to him. "All you do is pull that leaver on the end. The gun will do the rest for you."  
  
"Why would you give me this? I mean, if the gun can take him down why don't you go do it yourself?" Ace asked, not liking the man's request. It seemed off.  
  
"I can't do that. You see, I had a run in with him. He shot me in the legs. Now, it's hard to run. If he were to fire anything at me, I couldn't get out of the way. I want to get him back for what he did to me!" The man said, his eye narrowing.  
  
"I see. And you want me to get revenage for you. I'll take him down. Don't worry about it." Ace said, turning around and waving at the stranger. "He'll be dead soon enough."  
  
Ace could hear the man chuckle. Ace turned back around. "Say. what's your nam-" But he was cut off. The man was gone. Ace's cig. dropped from his mouth. "Oh great. What have I gotten myself into now?"  
  
**End of Flash back**  
  
"It's him." I said, glaring down at the table. "I KNOW it's him!"  
  
"Him who?" Meryl questioned.  
  
"..Knives.. Jr." I said.  
  
"Knives had a son?! I thought he would never.." Meryl started. Everyone knew what she was talking about, besides Milly of course.  
  
"He knew there was a good chance Vash was going to kill him, so he made sure his offspring could finish what he started." I said, chewing down on my thumb. This was bad. He was still alive and after me. He was going to hire every bounty hunter to start looking for me! This was just great..  
  
"So, how many 'offpsing' did Knives have anyway?" Wolfwood questioned.  
  
".... well... only one child.. but.." I started. A nervous laugh escaped my lips before I could finish.  
  
"But what?" Wolfwood questioned.  
  
"But.. he kind of.. made... clones of himself.." I said, my nervus laugh getting a little louder.   
  
Wolfwood ran over to me and grabbed me by the coat colar. He pulled me to his face. "NEEDLE-NOSE! YOU KNEW ALL THIS TIME THERE WERE CLONES OF KNIVES AND DIDN'T TELL US?!?!"  
  
"umm... yea.." I answered. Oh boy. he was going to kill me.  
  
"YOU IDIOT!" He said, putting me in a head lock. He started to tighten the hold. "How could you keep that kind of information from me? Huh? I don't care who's kid you are! If you ever keep that kind of information away from me again I'll shoot you! Got it?"  
  
"I got it! I got it!" I said, trying to squeeze out of his hold. His tighten his grip on me. "AWW! MERCY! MERCY! MERCY!"   
  
Wolfwood finally let go of me. I fell to the ground with swirls in my eyes.   
  
Everyone had a huge sweatdrop on the back of their head.  
  
"It's hard to believe he's Vash.." Ace said. "wait.. didn't you refer to Vash as someone else? If he isn't Vash.. then who is he?"  
  
"Well, I.. um.. "I started, getting up. I started to rub the back of my neck. "Well.. I'm Vash's Son. Hakura. Pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Vash's Son?! You mean all this time.. I've been going after somone that doesn't have a bounty?!" He yelled at me. Then he started to put me in a strangle hold. "Damm you! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"  
  
"AWW!! MERCY!!!!!!!!" I screamed.   
  
Milly smiled and looked at Wolfwood. "I think you and Ace would make great friends."   
  
"I guess so." Wolfwood said, taking my chair. I continued to try to get out of the strangle hold Ace was putting me in.  
  
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Please review! 


	15. The Son Of Knives

^_^ hello everyone. I know you all are a bit confused about what happened in the last chapter. I hope this chapter fills in anything you didn't understand in the last  
  
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Vash the Stampede JR.  
  
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Part 15- The Son Of Knives  
  
((Hakura's POV.))  
  
"Will you two knock it off?" Meryl yelled at Ace and me. Ace finally let me go. I fell to the floor, grabbing my throat.   
  
"Gah! I think you just killed five years off my life!" I said rubbing my throat. His hold was stronger then what Wolfwood did. It hurt!   
  
"So. Explain how Knives had a son and those clones." Wolfwood said.  
  
I sat up and cleared my throat. "Well, as far as I know, Knives DID have a son. He named the kid after himself. He's about as old as I am. He had Legato pick out a suitible woman for him... and you know the rest. She had a son and Knives made Legato take him from her. He raised the boy to hate all humans. As far as I know, Knives Jr. wants to destroy all humans as much as Knives did."  
  
"So we have another insane plant out there trying to kill all humanity." Wolfwood said.  
  
"Yeah... that's about it for the Jr. But the clones are another matter. No one can control them. Well, Knives could. So, his son is going out to find all the clones of Knives." I said, putting a finger to my chin in a thoughtful manner.  
  
Everyone just stared at me.  
  
"Ok.. oh yeah! I forgot to tell you they all escaped didn't I? Well, they did. So, there is about 10 of those clones. None of them are 'perfect' copies of Knives though. Each have some or none of Knives' power and intelligence. I think one of them settled down here and now has a wife. So, that proves not all of them hate humans." I said, finishing my explaination.  
  
"And exactly how long have you known all of this?" Wolfwood asked.  
  
"umm... a long time.." I said with a sheepish smile. He was going to hurt me..  
  
Wolfwood bashed me in the back of the head. "Don't you think you should have told us about this when we first met?"  
  
"No not really! What was I going to say? 'Oh hey guys! I'm Vash's son. You know what? Knives had a kid and made some clones of himself! Now they're going to destory the whole world. By the way, how are you guys doing?' WRONG!"   
  
"You know, Mr. Vash has a point." Milly said, finally speaking up.  
  
"You guys are all creepy you know that?" Ace said, leaning against the wall. "I can't believe half of what I've heard! This whole thing about the world going to be destoryed and everything. And who is this Knives guy?"  
  
"Oh boy. Guess it's time to tell him." I said. I gave a sigh before starting telling Ace from beginning to end of what has happened.  
  
***********  
  
Knives Jr. then man in the cloak, walked around the town. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the humans scatter in the town. He was going to kill them all. All of them would be dead! All he had to do was find the Knives in this town. Those stupid clones!   
  
'How dare they run from me? Those imperfect clones! They should learn to obey their master!' He thought, scanning the area. When, a man stepped up to him.  
  
"Leave this town!" He shouted.  
  
"You must be one of the clones." Knives Jr. sneered at the man.  
  
"Who are you?" The man questioned. He was as tall as Knives himself. He had dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes. You could see how he was imperfect in Knives' eyes. He cared for these humans.   
  
"You imperfect creation. Return to your master!" He shouted to the man.  
  
"Master? I have no master." He shouted back.  
  
Knives Jr. took off his cloak. He discarded it beside himself.   
  
The man froze in fear. The man before him was... was..   
  
Knives Jr. took out his Colt peacemaker, and shot the man right in the head. "Wrong answer."  
  
He watched with sick satisfaction as the man's body fell to the ground. Blood soiled the sand around him, turning everything to a red color.  
  
"One down. Nine to go."   
  
************  
  
"And that's the whole story." I finished.  
  
Everyone in the room stayed quiet. It was getting very eerie. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone glanced at each other, waiting for someone to talk. Almost, daring someone to talk first.  
  
"Wow." Was all Ace really said. That was a lot to comperhend in that short period of time. He stilled had a hard time believeing a lot of it. There being 'Plants' that escaped the bulb and now walk and talk like humans! It was a lot to swollow.  
  
"Yeah." Was all I said.  
  
"That explains a lot." Ace continued. "So. What is your plan to take out this Knives Jr. guy?"  
  
"I don't exactly know what I am going to do about that. I don't think I could bring myself to kill him though." I said, chewing on my thumb again.  
  
"If you don't, I will." Wolfwood answered, taking out another ciggerette and lighting it. He took a deep drag before blowing out the smoke from his lungs. "That was Vash's big mistake last time. He shouldn't have let Knives live. He would have been alive if he just killed Knives."  
  
Everyone stayed silent. You could tell Wolfwood was hurt that Vash was dead. Meryl suddenly got up from the chair.   
  
"I have to go out. I'll be back soon." Meryl said, leaving from the room. I watched her go. I didn't tell anyone, but I could hear her cry out for Vash every night.   
  
I felt like I was stuck in the middle of this. I was telling the hardest story for any of us to hear, over and over again. Sometimes I hate my life, a lot.   
  
"You know. We should get to finding those clones real soon. I don't think Knives will wait very long before he goes to look for them." Ace offered.  
  
"You're right. He's probably looking for them right now." Then wolfwoof turned to me. "Do you have any idea where they are?"  
  
"I've made contact with a few of them. I warned them that Knives' son was after all of them. They said they would contact the others as soon as possible. We all have a meeting place. I could send them a letter to tell them we have to meet." I said, getting up. I went to go right the letters.   
  
"That's not a bad idea, but." Wolfwood started. I groaned. "Knives might be watching the mail. We're going to have to find them to old fashion way."   
  
"Thomas?" I asked. He hit me upside the head.  
  
"No you Needle-nose! We have to find them and make them come with us!" He said, lighting up another cig.  
  
"But, Knives could get to half of them before we could!" I whinned.  
  
"Yes, but you know where they are. I doubt he does. We have a better chance at reaching them then he does." Wolfwood said.  
  
"I agree with Mr. Wolfwood on this one." Milly piped up. I almost forgot she was there. She had been quiet and listening to us the whole time. "But. Maybe we should split up. You know. So we can reach more at one time."  
  
"Good thinking Insurance girl!" I said to her with a wide grin. "Insurance girl and I will go to find the one in Mei city. You, wolfwood and Ace can go find the one in Augusta."  
  
"There's only one in Augusta? But Augusta is huge! It'll take forever to find him in there!" Wolfwod exclaimed.  
  
"Don't worry. He's always in the town saloon on Saturday. You'll find him there. He looks just like Knives. One of the only ones that looks almost exactly like him." I pointed out. "So. Let's get going."  
  
"It's all good in theory. But, how do you expect us to meet up again?" Ace questioned.  
  
"Simple. In exactly one month, let's meet up at September. Then, we can plan it all out from there. I'll give you the rest of the towns where the rest of the Clones I know are." I said, grabbing a peice of paper and writing down a few city names on it. Four in all.  
  
"Don't you know where the rest are?" Wolfwood questioned, looking at the paper.  
  
"I will gather the rest that I know. I only know where 8 are. The others really have kept under cover." I explained, giving Wolfwood the paper. "Now. I'll go find Insurance girl and head out with her."  
  
"Do you think it's wise spiltting the girls up?" Wolfwood questioned, pulling me away from the other two in the room.  
  
"I have to make it up to Meryl. Don't ask." I said, when I saw his confused face. "I just have to have some time alone with her, that's all. You need to watch over Milly and make sure Ace doesn't go spilling our story everywhere."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. You'd better make sure nothing happens to that girl. And try not to get yourself killed." Wolfwood said.   
  
"Gee.. your concern for my health is overwhelling." I said, rolling my eyes at him.  
  
He knocked me on the side of my head. "Just.. TRY to behave."  
  
"You too." I said, winking at him, while rubbing my sore head. Everyone has been hitting me lately! I could feel small bumps everywhere on my head now. I was sure by the end of this week, my head would look like a someone beat me over the head with a hammer.  
  
Wolfwood glared at me for my comment to him. I could see a hint of a blush on his face too. Nothing outstanding, but it was there. "I owe you a good hit for that one."  
  
"You can give it to me when you get back. Right now I have to go find Meryl. See ya." I answered, walking out of the room.  
  
I walked down the hallway to the girl's room. I was about to knock on the door when I heard a muffled sob. I pressed my ear up against the door and listened in on her. It wasn't in my nature to spy on people, but I couldn't help myself. It was Meryl who was crying.  
  
'She must be upset about Vash.' I thought to myself. I sighed, before knocking on the door. I could hear her getting up. I could almost see her trying to straighten her face enough to answer the door.  
  
"Just a minute." She said through the door. I could hear the small crack in her voice. She was really sobbing hard. I felt my own eyes start to tear up.  
  
That's another thing I have from my father. I can cry like a baby sometimes. Just out of nowhere I can start crying and sobbing. It's not because I'm sad, it just happens depending on my emotion at the time.  
  
I heard the knob turn and forcused my attention on what I was going to say to her. I had to make every stupid thing I did to her, up. I had too!  
  
"Oh.. It's you." She said in a slightly surprised voice.  
  
I grinned down at her. "Hiya Insurance girl. We figured out what we were going to do now. You want me to tell you?"  
  
"Yes." She answered back after a second pause.   
  
"..Can I come in?" I questioned her. Her small frame was blocking the door.  
  
"Of course." She answered, moving to the side to let me in. I walked into the room and turned to her, after taking a small glance around the identical room. It was the same as mine.  
  
"What is the plan?" She questioned as she shut the door.  
  
"Well, Ace, Milly and Wolfwood are going to go off, looking for some of the clones. You and me are going to do the same, just in different towns. You know. Split up to cover more ground." I answered. "What do you think?"  
  
"Well,... it could work. But what if one of the clones are.. unfriendly to humans?" Meryl questioned.  
  
"No problem. The ones I met are pretty alright guys. The ones I sent for the others to get, are the nicest of the group. The ones we are oging after are the slightly more... dangerous type." I answered.  
  
"Why are we going after the dangerous ones?" Meryl questioned, her voice recharged with her regular anger.  
  
"Well, they are dangerous to most humans. Since I AM half Plant, they aren't nearly as ... un friendly... to me as they would be to anyone else." I said, rubbing the back of my neck as I spoke.  
  
"So, why I am coming with you and not them?" Meryl questioned, eyeing me.  
  
"Well, I thought... well... I need someone with me.. who can handle themselves.. and since you and milly have to montator ..me.. I guess.. then it's only plausible that you come with me." I answered, sorta waiting for her to hit me while I was talking.  
  
Meryl blinked. "Umm.. I guess you're right. But why isn't Milly coming with us?"  
  
"Well, her and wolfwood deserve to be together." I answered quickly. My nerves were going through the roof! I was sure she was going to see through my little sceme and I was going to pay for it with my head. I waited for the blows to come, but she did something that shocked me.  
  
"I guess you're right. Well, I'll go pack." She said, rushing to get her things together.  
  
I blinked and stared at her back while, she started throwing things she needed onto the bed for her to pack into the suitcase. I heard her mumble a few things like 'This needs to be washed..' 'so does this..' 'I wonder if I have the rest of this outfit..?'  
  
All I really saw were identical copies of what she was wearing. But, there was one outfit that caught my eye. I was a shirt with the word 'Princess' on it, written in black. The shirt itself was a light violet, maybe pink color. The jeans that went with it, looked like they would be a little too small for Meryl's waist. They were blue jeans with black stitches going down the sides of the pant legs. They flared out at the bottom.  
  
I blinked. I NEVER saw an outfit like that one before! Well, then again, I never saw a lot of things before. I watched as she turned around to grab something and spotted me.  
  
"Why are you staring at me?" She questioned ot me with anger in her tone.  
  
"Oh.. umm... that outfit.." I said, pointing to the outfit. "Why don't you ever wear it?"  
  
"This?" Meryl questioned, holding up the .. let's just say 'Princess shirt', for me to look at.  
  
"Yeah." I answered.  
  
"It doesn't fit." Meryl answered quickly, almost too quickly, and stuffed it into the suitcase.  
  
"Then why do you have it?" I questioned to her.  
  
"It's none of your business what clothes I choose to pack. Now, if you don't mind I'd like to pack without someone staring at me." She said, ushering me out of the room. I quickly made my retreat back into Wolfwood's and My room. I opened the door to find all three of them into deep conversation.  
  
They looked up when I came in.  
  
"Hand it over." Wolfwood said to ace, holding out his hand. Ace grumbled something before handing Wolfwood five double dollars.  
  
"What's that all about?" I questioned outloud.  
  
"Well, Mr. Ace bet Mr. Wolfwood five double dollars that Sempai would atleast have smacked you in the face before you came in. Since she didn't, Mr. Wolfwood won." Milly said with her cheerful smile.  
  
"You guys bet on weather I would get smacked or not?" I asked, in complete shock mind you.  
  
"Yeah." They all answered at the same time.  
  
I sighed. There was no use in trying to understand these people.  
  
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Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I got tied up with my other stories.   
  
Anyways, I signed up for the Paypal thingy. I'm not quite sure what it is, but my friends told me I should sign up with it. ::shrugs:: well, whatever makes them happy.  
  
Please review! 


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